Cadbury Schweppes has rejected a private equity bid for its North American drinks unit.
A private equity consortium including Blackstone Group and Lion Capital offered Cadbury £6.4 billion to £6.9 billion, but wanted Cadbury part-financing the deal.
Industry sources say the bid was rejected over the terms rather than price after Cadbury was asked to finance a third of the deal.
The confectionery and beverages company announced in March it would cut off its Dr Pepper and 7UP unit.
A sale to private equity buyers seemed in the offing, until turbulence in the debt markets forced the auction to be delayed in late July.
The deal would have involved Cadbury taking on a high level of risk and would not have been good value for its shareholders.
