LATIN AMERICA

PepsiCo to Buy Stake in Mexican Firm: The Purchase, N.Y.-based soft drink maker said it will buy a 25% stake in one of Mexico’s largest soft-drink producers for $204 million in cash and other assets in a bid for a bigger share of the rapidly growing Mexican market. PepsiCo Inc. said it will also contribute company-owned bottling operations in three cities in north-central Mexico as part of the deal with Grupo Embotellador de Mexico, known as Gemex. Pepsi said the move will help strengthen its bottling operations in a market historically consisting of smaller local and regional operators.