NEW YORK — Coca-Cola has completed its $3.4 billion buyout of the North American operations of its largest bottler. The world's largest soft drink maker on Sunday closed the deal for the domestic unit of Coca-Cola Enterprises. The transaction is valued at nearly $12.3 billion.

Coca-Cola announced the deal in February, just after PepsiCo made a similar move. The move is part of a soft drink industry trend to gain more control over distribution. Soft drink makers make concentrate and then sell it to bottlers, who make and distribute the products.

By owning bottlers, the companies can better control where their products go and how they are displayed. They are also able to get products to market more quickly.