PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Aug 7
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Coca-Cola bottlers agree three-way Europe merger (http://on.ft.com/1IR6eK2) * Vimpelcom and Hutchison to merge their Italian mobile units (http://on.ft.com/1JPeH18) * UK watchdog accuses Pfizer of inflating anti-epilepsy drug price (http://on.ft.com/1UrnF7T) * CF Industries to buy OCI in $8 bln fertiliser deal (http://on.ft.com/1MTSUGe) Overview Three of Europe's main bottlers of Coca-Cola products are to join in a $27 billion agreement to simplify manufacturing as the beverage maker tries to cut costs. Coca-Cola Enterprises , the U.S.-based bottler with exclusive Coke licences in many Western Europe countries, will merge with its Iberian and German counterparts. Vimpelcom and Hutchison have agreed to combine their Italian mobile operations in a long-awaited deal that would cut the number of players in Europe's fourth-largest telecom market to three from four. Britain's competition watchdog has accused Pfizer and Flynn Pharma of breaching UK and European law by ramping up the cost of an epilepsy drug, given to more than 50,000 British patients. U.S. fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc said on Thursday it will buy OCI NV's North American and European plants in an $8 billion deal including debt, making CF one the world's largest nitrogen companies. (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru)
