Beijing, April 16 - China's top juice maker Huiyuan still has high hopes of finding a strong partner after Beijing rejected Coca-Cola's acquisition attempt, its chairman was reported as saying on Thursday.
Chairman Zhu Xinli said that Coca-Cola's bid had greatly boosted Huiyuan's reputation and that it was now being courted by even more companies.
We still hope "to marry into a wealthy family," Zhu was quoted as saying by the China Securities Journal. The newspaper did not mention the names of any potential partners.
Zhu also said that he had no hard feelings towards Chinese regulators for blocking the deal, likening them to parents who know what is best for their child in finding a spouse.
China rejected Coca-Cola's $2.5 billion bid for Huiyuan under an anti-monopoly law enacted last year, stating that the combined concentration of the two companies would have hurt competition in the juice business.
Huiyuan's profits attributable to shareholders fell 86.1 percent last year to 88.9 million yuan ($13.01 million) from 640 million yuan in 2007, the China Securities Journal said.