Coca-Cola Buys Russian Juice Maker

In a move to gain a larger share of the beverage market outside of North America, Coca-Cola (KO) has bought Russian juice maker Nidan Juices, The Wall Street Journalreported Wednesday. Sluggish soda sales in the U.S. have pushed Coca-Cola to compete with PepsiCo (PEP) for sales outside of the country, according to the Journal.

The acquisition comes as no surprise. In March, Coca-Cola disclosed it had applied to Russian regulators for approval to buy a majority stake in Nidan, the country's fourth-largest juice maker, from private-equity company Lion Capital. Coca-Cola didn't disclose how much it paid for Nidan, but plans to spend as much as $1 billion in additional investments in Russia over the next few years, the newspaper reported.