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Coke approves Quaker bid?
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November 21, 2000: 8:23 p.m. ET
Coke board reportedly approves $14B bid for Gatorade parent Quaker Oats
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The board of Coca-Cola has approved a $14 billion bid for Quaker Oats which, if accepted, would bring sports drink Gatorade under the company's control, a published report said Tuesday.
According to The Financial Times Web site, Coke (KO: Research, Estimates) will swap about 1.85 of its shares for each share of Quaker, valuing the company at about $102 per share.
The offer represents just an 8 percent premium over Quaker's (OAT: Research, Estimates) Tuesday close of $94.44, but the stock has been rising steadily after interest from Pepsi and then news of discussions with Coke.
The report gave no indication of whether Quaker had accepted the bid.
With the deal the world's No. 1 soft drink producer would get the strong brand of Gatorade, which has a commanding share of the sports drink market. It would also outmaneuver rival Pepsi (PEP: Research, Estimates), which reportedly had a $14 billion bid spurned earlier this month.
Shares of Coke dropped $1.31 to $55.25 Tuesday. 
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