Coca-Cola may once again seek to acquire Huiyuan Juice with the US beverage giant's CEO Muhtar Kent recently elected as chairman of US-China Business Council (USCBC), the 21st century Business Herald reported Tuesday.

Kent's election may give him more opportunity to lobby China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) for Coca-Cola's deal with Huiyuan, the report said.

In June 2008, Coca-Cola proposed to acquire Beijing-based Huiyuan for $2.4 billion. The offer was rejected by MOFCOM on anti-trust grounds in March 2009. Since then, Coca-Cola has been focusing on the expansion of its beverage range.

This isn't the first time Coca-Cola has been rumored to restart the acquisition bid for Huiyuan. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported the two parties were in talks on Coca-Cola's purchase of a minority stake in Huiyuan.

Huiyuan's minority shareholders include Danone, Forte International and Warburg Pincus Funds. Danone currently holds a 22.98-percent stake in Huiyuan.

Huiyuan's spokeswoman Qu Bing and Coca-Cola's PR manager Zhao Yanhong both denied the rumor on Monday.

China's business press carried the story above on Tuesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.