Exhibit 99.2
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
NEWS RELEASE Media Relations Department
P.O. Box 1734, Atlanta, Georgia 30301
Telephone (404) 676-2121
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jon Chandler
Brussels
32 (0) 2 6459859
Ben Deutsch
Atlanta
(404) 676-2683
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ANNOUNCES DRAFT SETTLEMENT
DECISION WITH THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
-------------------------------------------------
BRUSSELS, Oct. 19, 2004 -- The European Commission today announced that
it has accepted a wide-ranging Undertaking from The Coca-Cola Company and its
EEA bottlers relating to various commercial practices that have been under
investigation since 1999. The Commission intends publishing this Undertaking
under its new antitrust Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 for third-party comments
before becoming final.
Neville Isdell, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola
Company, was in Brussels today to meet with Commissioner Monti and to present
the Undertaking on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company and its EEA bottlers.
Mr. Isdell commented: "We welcome the Commission's announcement today.
The commitments given by the Company and its bottlers meet their concerns and
will bring an end to the investigation. We are confident that we have
demonstrated our commitment to finding solutions that address the Commission's
concerns. We have always sought to compete fairly in an increasingly competitive
European non-alcoholic beverage marketplace, and I believe this Undertaking
provides clarity to the application of Community competition rules to our
commercial practices. We look forward to a constructive and close working
relationship with the European Commission in the future."
Over the past five years, the Competition Directorate of the European
Commission has been conducting an investigation into various commercial
practices of The Coca-Cola Company and certain Coca-Cola Bottlers in Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain.
- more -
Page 2 of 3
In the last few months, The Coca-Cola Company and certain of its
Bottlers began a dialogue with the Commission Services to identify and address
the commercial practices understood to be under review. During the summer, the
Companies submitted draft proposals addressing all such practices. The
Commission subsequently shared these proposals with retailers and other beverage
suppliers involved in the non-alcoholic beverage market. The Companies were
informed that the Commission considered the Undertaking fully responsive to the
matters under investigation.
The Undertaking will potentially apply in 27 EEA countries and in all
channels of distribution where the carbonated soft drinks of The Coca-Cola
Company account for over 40 percent of national sales and twice the nearest
competitor's share. It will take more than 12 months to fully implement the
Undertaking and for the market to react to any resulting changes.
The commitments relate broadly to exclusivity, percentage-based
purchasing commitments, transparency, target rebates, tying, assortment or range
commitments and agreements concerning products of other suppliers. The
Undertaking will also apply to shelf space commitments in agreements with
take-home customers and to financing and availability agreements in the
on-premise channel. In addition, the Undertaking includes commitments that will
be applicable to commercial arrangements concerning the installation and use of
technical equipment (i.e., coolers, fountain equipment, and vending machines).
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along
with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's best-known brand, the Company markets
four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including diet Coke, Fanta and
Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft
drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks.
Through the world's largest distribution system, consumers in more than 200
countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings
each day.
- more -
Page 3 of 3
Forward-Looking Statements
- --------------------------
This press release may contain statements, estimates or projections that
constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal securities
laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate,"
"anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company's historical
experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks include, but
are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; changes in the
non-alcoholic beverages business environment, including actions of competitors
and changes in consumer preferences; product boycotts; foreign currency and
interest rate fluctuations; adverse weather conditions; the effectiveness of our
advertising and marketing programs; fluctuations in the cost and availability of
raw materials or necessary services; our ability to avoid production output
disruptions; our ability to achieve earnings goals; our ability to effectively
align ourselves with our bottling system; regulatory and legal changes; our
ability to penetrate developing and emerging markets; litigation uncertainties;
and other risks discussed in our Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which
filings are available from the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The
Coca-Cola Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements.
###