U.S. approves PepsiCo bottler buy with conditions

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Workers unpack a lorry of Pepsi products in New York"s Hell"s Kitchen neighborhood, Oct 8, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Chip East

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) has won U.S. antitrust capitulation to buy dual of the largest bottlers on condition that it take stairs to guarantee a rival"s commercial operation information, the Federal Trade Commission pronounced on Friday.

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Under an agreement with the FTC, PepsiCo will set up a firewall to safeguard that PepsiCo employees do not see trusted Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS.N) commercial operation information, the group pronounced in a statement.

The sequence will be in place for twenty years, the commission said.

Pepsi, that had voiced the capitulation of the $7.8 billion understanding late Thursday, pronounced that it programmed to close the understanding after the marketplace sealed Friday.

PepsiCo launched the takeover bid for dual bottlers -- Pepsi Bottling Group Inc PBG.N and PepsiAmericas Inc PAS.N -- in April, and eventually struck a understanding in August.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, modifying by Gerald E. McCormick)

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