Coke, Huiyuan in formal talks after deal blocked

* Coca-Cola holding informal talks with Huiyuan -source

* Talks could include taking minority stakes in assets-WSJ

(Adds further details, background)

By Joseph Chaney and Fion Li

HONG KONG, April 23 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola <KO.N> is holding informal talks with China Huiyuan Juice <1886.HK> to weigh partnership options after China blocked its takeover of the company last month, a source familiar with the situation said.

In March, China rejected Coca-Cola's planned $2.4 billion acquisition of top juice maker Huiyuan, saying the deal would have been bad for competition. The acquisition would have been the largest-ever buyout of a Chinese company by a foreign rival.

"After the deal collapsed there have been discussions in Beijing," the source said, adding that the talks with senior Huiyuan management are at an informal stage.

The source declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the situation.

Coca-Cola is in negotiations with Huiyuan that could include taking a minority stake in the Chinese juice maker's assets, a Wall Street Journal report citing unidentified sources said on Thursday.

China's Ministry of Commerce rejected the takeover deal under an anti-monopoly law enacted last year, saying in a statement that Coca-Cola's changes to the deal were insufficient to allay its concerns.

At the time of the decision, Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager at Dallas-based Hodges Capital Management, called the rejection "a minor setback" for Coca-Cola rather than "a major slap in the face".

"They'll probably regroup and try to go at it from a different angle," Bradshaw said.

A Huiyuan spokeswoman in Beijing declined to comment.

"It is our policy not to comment on speculation," Kenth Kaerhoeg, a Coca-Cola spokesman in Hong Kong said.

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China's Huiyuan says still hopes to find partner

BEIJING, April 16 (Reuters) - China's top juice maker Huiyuan <1886.HK> still has high hopes of finding a strong partner after Beijing rejected Coca-Cola's acquisition attempt, its chairman was reported as saying on Thursday.

Chairman Zhu Xinli said that Coca-Cola's <KO.N> bid had greatly boosted Huiyuan's reputation and that it was now being courted by even more companies.

We still hope "to marry into a wealthy family," Zhu was quoted as saying by the China Securities Journal. The newspaper did not mention the names of any potential partners.

Zhu also said that he had no hard feelings towards Chinese regulators for blocking the deal, likening them to parents who know what is best for their child in finding a spouse.

China rejected Coca-Cola's $2.5 billion bid for Huiyuan under an anti-monopoly law enacted last year, stating that the combined concentration of the two companies would have hurt competition in the juice business.

Huiyuan's profits attributable to shareholders fell 86.1 percent last year to 88.9 million yuan ($13.01 million) from 640 million yuan in 2007, the China Securities Journal said.

($1=6.832 Yuan) (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Ken Wills)

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China says Coca-Cola could have abused juice deal

BEIJING, March 25 (Reuters) - China rejected Coca-Cola's <KO.N> bid to buy top local juice maker Huiyuan <1886.HK> because it feared the U.S. multinational could abuse its position across the whole soft drinks market, an official said in remarks published on Wednesday. Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian said regulators treated carbonated soft drinks and juice beverages as a conjoined sector -- one, he said, in which Coca-Cola could deter competitors to the detriment of consumers. Yao fleshed out the ministry's rationale for rejecting the bid last week in an interview in the official People's Daily. "Potential competitors would find it very difficult to enter this market and grow into substantive competitors against Coca-Cola and thereby eradicate or restrict the possibility of Coca-Cola engaging in abusive conduct," Yao said. Multinational investment could be a boon for China's economy, Yao said, adding a broad caveat. "If mergers and acquisitions lead to multinational companies gaining or enhancing dominant status, producing exclusionary and competition-restricting outcomes, this will hinder economic development," he said. China rejected the proposed deal under an anti-monopoly law enacted last year, stating that the combined concentration of the two companies would have hurt competition in the juice business. Huiyuan controls over a tenth of the Chinese fruit and vegetable juice market, which grew 15 percent last year to $2 billion. Coca-Cola has a 9.7 percent market share. Huiyuan is listed in Hong Kong and registered in the Cayman Islands. The decision to block the deal drew criticism from trade lawyers and economists who said China appeared willing to wield its anti-monopoly law to fend off foreign attempts to buy promising domestic firms, even when resulting market concentration would not be excessive. But Yao said "nationalist sentiment" was not a factor. He said Coca-Cola already had market dominance in the carbonated drinks sector, citing local industry association estimates that it holds 60.6 percent of the market. It could have leveraged that influence in the juice sector, he added. "Although there is not strong substitutability between the carbonated beverage and juice beverage markets," Yao said, "both are non-alcoholic drinks and belong to two closely intertwined markets." Coca-Cola, he said, could have used its position to "transfer its dominance of the carbonate beverage market to the juice beverage market". (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie) ((chris.buckley@reuters.com; +86-10-66271261)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) Keywords: CHINA COKE/M&A

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China reviews Cola-Huiyuan deal under anti-monopoly law

BEIJING, March 10 (Reuters) - China is reviewing Coca-Cola Co's <KO.N> bid to acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group <1886.HK> under the anti-monopoly law, Commerce Minister Chen Demin said on Tuesday.

Chen was speaking after a press conference during the annual parliamentary meeting.

Coca-Cola said in December it had filed an application for anti-trust approval in China. The case is being closely watched by analysts and lawyers since it is the first to test the nascent law.

Coke agreed to pay HK$12.20 a share in cash, nearly three times its HK$4.14 price before the deal was announced last September.

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