The Coca-Cola Company said on Wednesday it will buy top Chinese juice maker China Huiyuan Juice Group for $2.3 billion, or triple its market value, in a deal that expands its presence in China's fast-growing beverage industry.

The iconic US company will pay HK$17.92 billion cash, or HK$12.20 for each Huiyuan share - nearly triple the stock's closing price of HK$4.14 on Friday, sending Huiyuan shares up by 164 per cent early on Wednesday.

"Huiyuan is a long-established and successful juice brand in China and is highly complementary to the Coca-Cola China business," said Muhtar Kent, chief executive of Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage company.

Huiyuan, the country's biggest maker of pure juice drinks, is about 23 per cent owned by French food giant Groupe Danone and 6.8 per cent owned by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus & Company.

Coca-Cola will buy all the outstanding shares, bonds and options of Huiyuan and take the company private after the acquisition.

"They are in the same industry and it would take a lot of effort to build a brand name, especially in China, (which is) such a huge market," said Andrew To, sales director at Tai Fook Securities Company.

"The premium is being paid for Huiyuan's brand name and sales network," he said.

Huiyuan controls about 43 per cent of China's pure juice market, according to AC Nielsen figures cited by Huiyuan.

Shares in smaller competitors Haisheng Juice and Andre Juice rallied on Wednesday morning.

Coca-Cola's Atlantic Industries unit was advised by Royal Bank of Scotland and Huiyuan was advised by Goldman Sachs.-Reuters