PepsiCo, bottler to buy stake in Russian juice maker

NEW YORK -- JSC Lebedyansky had 2007 annual revenue of about $800 million from its juice operations.

The transaction is subject to the spinoff of Lebedyansky's baby food and mineral water business to its shareholders as well as regulatory approvals.

The deal is not expected to close before the third quarter. But once it is completed, PepsiCo and Pepsi Bottling will make a bid to buy the remaining Lebedyansky shares, as required by Russian law.

On Monday, PepsiCo and Pepsi Bottling said they bought Russian beverage company Sobol-Aqua JSC through a joint venture. Terms were not disclosed.