Coca-Cola has finally thrown in the towel and abandoned plans to buy Cadbury Schweppes soft drinks brands in Mexico and Canada after almost two years of protracted negotiations with federal regulators. "The authorities in both countries have made their concerns clear and we are simply respecting those concerns," said chairman Douglas Daft. Coke's $1.85bn deal to buy some of Cadbury's top non-US beverage brands including Dr Pepper and 7-Up has been scaled down after running into antitrust problems in some countries. Several are still reviewing the Cadbury acquisition, including Chile, but a spokesman said no significant regulatory hurdles to the purchase remain. {{NEWS }}

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