Coca-Cola and P&G have pulled the plug on their multibillion partnership to hive off brands including Sunny Delight, Pringles and Minute Maid into a standalone enterprise. In a tersely written joint statement, the two parties said they would "independently pursue opportunities to grow their respective businesses". Both sides declined to comment on rumours that Coke had pulled out because it was unhappy with the brands P&G was contributing to the partnership. A spokesman for Coke said: "After many months of due diligence with Procter & Gamble, we felt that we could unlock the value of our brands more effectively and profitably by retaining full control of them." {{NEWS }}