• Coca-Cola said last week that it will offer a new coffee-infused cola product next year in the US.
According to the company, Coca-Cola will combine its flagship cola with Brazilian coffee, will come in three flavors - Dark Blend, Vanilla and Caramel - and will be sold in 12-ounce cans that contain 69 milligrams of caffeine per can.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that "fuel maker Marathon Petroleum Corp. said it has agreed to sell its gas stations to the owners of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain for $21 billion in the largest U.S. energy-related deal of the year.
"The all-cash agreement with 7-Eleven Inc. comes less than a year after Marathon agreed to spin off its convenience-store chain, known as Speedway, under pressure from activist investors including Elliott Management Corp."
The story quotes Ryuichi Isaka, president of Seven & I Holdings Co., the Tokyo-based parent of 7-Eleven, as saying it was "the chance of a lifetime." Isaka said that "he saw convenience stores in the U.S. as the biggest growth driver for the company, whose department stores and supermarkets in Japan are struggling."
