biz.yahoo.com U.S. Antitrust Regulator Clears Coca-Cola FEMSA Acquisition of Panamco Wednesday February 5, 6:30 pm ET

MEXICO CITY & MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2003--Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. ("Coca-Cola FEMSA") (NYSE:KOF - News) and Panamerican Beverages Inc. ("Panamco") today announced that they have received notice that the waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act with respect to the proposed acquisition by Coca-Cola FEMSA of Panamco has been terminated early.

The closing of the proposed acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of other conditions. These conditions are described in the preliminary proxy statement filed by Panamco with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 30, 2003.

About Coca-Cola FEMSA

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. produces Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Lift and other trademark beverages of The Coca-Cola Company in the Valley of Mexico and the Southeast Territories in Mexico and in the Buenos Aires Territory in Argentina. The Company has eight bottling facilities in Mexico and one in Buenos Aires and serves more than 283,650 retailers in Mexico and 76,400 retailers in the greater Buenos Aires area. Coca-Cola FEMSA currently accounts for approximately 3.4% of Coca-Cola global sales, 25.0% of all Coca-Cola sales in Mexico and approximately 36.5% of all Coca-Cola sales in Argentina. The Coca-Cola Company owns a 30% equity interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA.

About Panamco

Panamco is the largest soft drink bottler in Latin America and one of the three largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. The Company produces and distributes substantially all Coca-Cola soft drink products in its franchise territories in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama, along with bottled water, beer and other beverages in some of these territories. Panamco is an anchor bottler of The Coca-Cola Company.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

On Jan. 30, 2003, Panamerican Beverages Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a preliminary proxy statement regarding the proposed business combination transaction referred to in the foregoing information. In addition, Panamerican Beverages Inc. will prepare and file with the SEC a definitive proxy statement and other documents regarding the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders are urged to read the definitive proxy statement, when it becomes available, because it will contain important information. The definitive proxy statement will be sent to shareholders of Panamerican Beverages Inc. seeking their approval of the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement (when it is available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Panamerican Beverages Inc. at the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. The definitive proxy statement (when it is available) and these other documents may also be obtained for free from Panamerican Beverages Inc. by directing a request to Laura I. Maydon (lmaydon@panamcollc.com). Free copies of documents filed with the SEC by Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V. may be obtained at the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to Alfredo Fernandez (afernandeze@kof.com.mx).

CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING PARTICIPANTS

A detailed list of names, affiliations and interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies of Panamerican Beverages Inc. to approve the proposed business combination is included in the preliminary proxy statement.

Contact:

 Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A. de C.V., Mexico D.F.
 Investor Relations:
 Alfredo Fernandez, 52/55-5081-51-20
 afernandeze@kof.com.mx
  or
 Panamco, Miami
 Investor Relations:
 Laura Maydon, 305/929-0867
 lmaydon@panamcollc.com

There was a man who had worked all his life and had saved all his money and was a real miser.

He loved money more than anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen. When I die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife with me."

And so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him.

Well, he died.

He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black,and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said, Wait just a minute! She had a box with her, she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down,and they rolled it away.

So her friend said, "Girl, I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband."

She said, "Listen, I'm a God-fearing woman and can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was gonna put that money in that casket with him."

"You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him!"

"I sure did," said the wife. "I wrote him a check."

Never underestimate the intelligence of a woman.

www.gazettenet.com By CHERYL B. WILSON, Staff Writer

Tuesday, February 4, 2003 -- AMHERST - Teaching and research will occupy center stage during the University of Massachusetts' inaugural festivities for Chancellor John V. Lombardi Thursday and Friday.

Lombardi, 60, a scholar of Latin America whose research focuses on Venezuela, also developed expertise in the management and evaluation of higher education when he was president of the University of Florida at Gainesville from 1990 to 1999. He has continued to teach throughout his administrative career.

Inauguration activities titled "The Academic Imperative" begin Thursday with symposia featuring nationally known UMass professors and researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students. A concurrent series of panel discussions and lectures on teaching, research and learning begins at 9:30 a.m. on the lower concourse of the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and continues until 5 p.m. All symposia are open to the public free of charge.

"I think it's terrific," said Barbara Osborne, professor of veterinary and animal sciences. She will discuss her research on white blood cells at 11:15 a.m., along with Derek Lovley, distinguished professor of microbiology, who will talk about his work with microbes that can generate electricity and restore polluted environments.

Osborne said, "It's a great way to showcase not just the faculty but the students, and what goes on around campus on all levels. To my recollection we have never had an event like this."

Gala dinner for 800

Symposia speakers are among more than 800 guests invited to a gala dinner in the Mullins Center beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday. Invitations were issued to major donors, significant volunteers, prominent alumni, government and community officials, deans and senior administrators, faculty involved with inaugural planning, student government leaders and Lombardi family and friends, said university news director Barbara Pitoniak.

The UMass Studio Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Holmes, will perform at the dinner. The group of 41 musicians recently was among 12 collegiate orchestras chosen from hundreds of applicants to perform in Toronto, Canada, for the conference of the International Association of Jazz Educators.

Speakers at the dinner include UMass President William Bulger, Alumni Association president Jess Kane, former IBM executive John Armstrong of Amherst, who is a longtime donor to UMass, and student trustee William Powers. Lombardi will also speak.

The dinner and all other inaugural expenses are financed by private contributions. UMass has raised more than $268,000 for the events, including $35,000 seed money for a new Chancellor's Merit Scholarship program. Lombardi is expected to announce details of the new student financial program soon.

The inaugural ceremonies

The inaugural ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. in the Mullins Center Friday. More than 3,000 people are expected to attend. The event is open to the public.

Chancellor Lombardi will deliver his inaugural address after being installed by Bulger and Grace K. Fey, trustee chairwoman.

John W. Ryan, president emeritus of Indiana University, where Lombardi taught and served in the administration for 20 years, also will speak.

"He is a leader in international education among many other things, and has been a driving force in the development of a number of international consortia and international institution building projects," Lombardi said. "I met John Ryan when I joined Indiana University in 1967, and he has served as friend and mentor for me ever since."

Ryan is a former UMass Boston chancellor and also worked on the Amherst campus, Lombardi said.

Another speaker is long-time Lombardi friend, German Carrera Damas, former ambassador to Mexico, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. "He is a very well known historian from Venezuela with a stellar international presence," Lombardi said, describing Carrera Damas as one of Latin America's premier intellectuals. He currently teaches at Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Provost Charlena Seymour will preside at the ceremonies and representatives of the faculty, staff and students will bring greetings as part of the program.

A reception will follow the ceremony in the Mullins Center concourse.

Lombardi became UMass Amherst chancellor on July 1, 2002. After serving as University of Florida president for nine years, he became director of the Center for Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences on the Gainesville campus. Prior to his work in Florida, Lombardi was provost at Johns Hopkins University.

Cheryl B. Wilson can be reached at cwilson@gazettenet.com.

www.nytimes.com By MARCI ALBOHER NUSBAUM

eing sent to Miami on business is usually a lot more like pleasure, especially when the rest of the country is enduring the big chill.

But brush up on your Spanish. Some frequent visitors say they have trouble even getting around the airport without a smattering of the language. And do not assume most Latinos in Miami are Cuban. While the Cuban population has the deepest roots and most political power, an influx of immigrants from Paraguay, Venezuela, Columbia and Mexico has brought the number of non-Cuban Hispanics almost equal to the number of those of Cuban ancestry.

AIRPORT

If your business has anything to do with Latin America, you can't avoid MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, which ranks third in the United States for international traffic. With only one terminal and an alphabet of concourses to navigate, make sure to leave ample time to get around, especially if you have a connecting flight. Built in 1959, when the traffic was 4.2 million passengers a year, compared with 31 million in 2002, the infrastructure has grown creaky. Advertisement

But there is hope. A $4.8 billion construction project is under way, and already two concourses have been transformed into sun-drenched, airy spaces with terrazzo floors embedded with shimmering brass inlays. And a new food court with a California Pizza Kitchen has won praise from business travelers grateful for a break from fried fare.

HOTELS

With refurbished Art Deco gems sprouting like mushrooms in South Beach, arguably the most chic stretch of beach in the country, deciding which one to book isn't easy. Monique Skruzny, senior vice president for investor relations at AOL Latin America, says the NATIONAL (800-550-0505, from $189) is a standout.

"While the SHORE CLUB or DELANO may win points for hipness, I prefer the home-away-from-home feel of the National, where I know I'm going to see the same faces at the front desk each time I visit," she said. Special touches abound, like free homemade strawberry-flavored lemonade at check-in, free Internet service in the lobby cafe and $9-to-$12 meals for the return flight home. Ms. Skruzny also recommends the wine club. "For $20 you can mingle with an international beach set of upscale professionals," she said.

One reason to venture away from the beach is the posh MANDARIN ORIENTAL on Brickell Key (305-913-8288, $250) in downtown Miami. The Mandarin's spa takes pampering seriously. Ask about booking one of the private spa suites with their whirlpool tubs, spa cuisine meals and indulgent treatments. AZUL (305-913-8254, $145 for dinner for two with tip and wine), the hotel's waterfront restaurant with its star chef, Michelle Bernstein, is a local favorite. If that is beyond your budget, the CAFE SAMBAL (305-913-8251, $80), the hotel's more moderate restaurant, lets you enjoy the Mandarin's ambience at a fraction of the price.

RESTAURANTS

When Joaquin F. Blaya, the chief executive of Radio Unica, the only Spanish-language radio network in the United States, entertains advertisers or bankers, he takes them to LA DORADA (305-446-2002, $100), known for its imported seafood. La Dorada's general manager, Beatrice Bajares, says the fish is hand-selected daily at the port in Malaga, Spain, and flown directly to Miami. "My guy calls me from the port each morning at 5:30 and I tell him what I want," she said.

For a more casual meal, try JERRY'S DELI (305-532-8030), a New York-style deli, open round the clock, with more than 500 menu choices ranging from standard deli fare to what Jerry's calls "high-energy California cuisine."

According to Tara Gilani, a local media personality known as "the trend tracker," Miami's elite — from politicians to fashion models — has made the PALM (305-868-7256, $150) in Coral Gables their haunt. "You know you've made it in Miami if your caricature is on the wall of the Palm," she said.

If you've just been promoted or are closing a big deal, Ms. Skruzy suggests NORMAN'S (305-446-6767, $150). For a more intimate setting, she likes ORTANIQUE (305-446-7710, $140) in Coral Cables with its "spectacular Caribbean food."

ON YOUR OWN

With 15 miles of sand, one pastime is obvious. But Miami has also developed a serious art scene. Two collections worth a visit are the BASS MUSEUM OF ART (305-673-7530) and the WOLFSONIAN-FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY gallery (305-531-1001), both in South Beach.

NIGHT LIFE

In a town where even Janet Reno has been spotted at trendy clubs, there is no excuse to turn in after dinner. For celebrity sightings, from Bill Clinton to Britney Spears, the place to be is LEVEL (305-532-1525, $20 cover charge), which Ms. Gilani calls a "banging disco palace, a huge cavernous place, but with enough nooks and crannies that good people can do bad things."

If exclusivity is the aim, then she would recommend MYNT (786-276-6132, $20 cover charge) "It's small and chic and hard to get into, like all good lounges should be," she said.

www.news-journal.com By GLENN EVANS

AUSTIN — Two of four Northeast Texas lawmakers got the committee assignments they asked House Speaker Tom Craddick for last week.

Longview Republican Tommy Merritt wasn't one of them.

Merritt, who was allied with Democratic former speaker Pete Laney during the 2001 legislative session, was not granted his wish by the new speaker, a Midland Republican. Merrit, an oil field service businessman, fell off the Energy Resource Committee, where he had served since his first term in 1997 and which he led for a few months after being named chairman by Laney last fall.

Merritt declined to speculate whether he was bumped from the energy committee by Craddick as payback for his loyalty to Laney.

"I can't answer that," he said. "I don't speak for Speaker Craddick. I just know that some speakers like to move their people around. I would like to believe it's because of my relationships in international and border affairs, and my relationships in state and military affairs."

Merritt was optimistic about his new assignments on the Border and International Affairs Committee and the Defense and State-Federal Relations Committee. Those panels will tackle issues from business relationships with Mexico, including traffic from the North American Free Trade Agreement, to coordination with the new federal Homeland Security Agency.

"Now our committee will pick up that important issue," Merritt said, referring to terrorism. "This had enough priority that the governor did establish a home security committee. And I know my qualifications are well-suited for that."

Merritt said his relationship with Tony Garza, a former Texas railroad commissioner who is the new U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, will help the legislature work with that country and all Latin nations.

"My good friend Tony Garza being in Mexico will be not only an asset to the United States, but help us working with the ambassador of Venezuela in establishing a better working relationship with Texas," he said of the major oil producing nation that has been all but paralyzed by strikes.

And Merritt held out hope for his oil field study bill, which is designed to show drillers the best way to recover the last drop of oil from below East Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry said the bill cost too much when he vetoed it after the 77th Legislative Session in 2001 but Merritt said his membership on the state-federal committee will help him secure federal Department of Energy money for the bill.

"It just opens another door," Merritt said. "I think there's a chance for the oil field study."

Mineola Republican Bryan Hughes — who represents Harrison, Marion, Upshur and Wood counties — could be the poster child for Craddick's pledge to give the 36 freshmen a voice in the Texas House.

"He promised to be inclusive, and he's following through," Hughes said of the new speaker. "As the majority, we're basically saying that we're sharing our power (with Democrats)."

Hughes asked to be placed on the Committee on Judicial Affairs, a request that Craddick obliged for the attorney.

That committee will deal first with any bills affecting how judges are seated, whether by partisan or nonpartisan election, appointment or some other method.

Hughes also was placed on the Committee on Rules and Resolutions, which he described as a housekeeping committee.

Paris Democrat Mark Homer did not get appointed to the transportation or natural resources committees as he'd hoped. But he did get a promotion from member to vice chairman of the Committee on Economic Development.

That appointment should help his bill to stop the use of local half-cent sales taxes to help bring retail establishments that will compete with existing businesses. Hughes also joins Homer on the economic development committee.

"Economic development is something I ran on," Hughes said.

Homer was a little more more candid about Craddick's appointments than Merritt was.

"He obviously punished some of those," Homer said. "Any who were longtime loyalists of the former speaker, the (new) speaker didn't do them any favors. ... I thought he was very kind to me."

Homer, who also was appointed to the Licensing and Administrative Services Committee, had wanted to be on natural resources so he could keep an eye on the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir in Red River County. Local timber interests, landowners and others oppose the lake, which water planners in the Metroplex say they will build with or without local support.

Homer does not oppose the lake outright, but he has insisted it be put on hold until its economic and environmental impacts are known. Homer's District 3 includes Titus and Franklin counties.

Chuck Hopson, who represents Rusk and Panola counties in District 11, was reappointed to the Committee on Corrections that oversees prisons, this time as vice chairman.

There are five prison units in Hopson's district, including the Bradshaw State Jail near Henderson and the Skyview psychiatric unit outside Lufkin.

He also was reappointed to the Committee on Financial Institutions. Chief of Staff Dennis Speight said Hopson, D-Jacksonville, serves on a bank board and wanted on the financial institutions committee.

"The home equity issue will be important in this session," Speight said.

Glenn Evans can be contacted at gevans@coxnews.com.