Shares in Britain's Cadbury Schweppes soared yesterday as it sold off its soft drinks brands outside the US to Coca-Cola Co and stepped up a global search for tasty confectionery acquisitions.

The chocolate and drinks group is selling its non-US drinks business, including brands like Schweppes, Dr Pepper and Canada Dry, for $1.85 billion (£1.23 billion), and hopes to make a further £500 million sterling (£560 million) from the sale of its non-US bottling interests.

The surprise deal leaves Cadbury with a global confectionery business ranking third in the world, and a significant 15 per cent share of the US soft drinks market where it also ranks third, behind industry giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Cadbury shares rose as analysts said it was a good price and allowed the group to focus on areas of growth.

The shares hit a record £10.02 1/2p before settling to close up 54 1/2p, or 5.8 per cent, at 989p.

"This is an area where we couldn't see long term sustainable growth, and now we have resources to develop confectionery and US beverages through organic growth and acquisitions," Cadbury's chief executive, Mr John Sunderland, said. He said Cadbury held a three per cent share of the non-US carbonated soft drinks market which represented 14 per cent of group profits. "Cadbury's big problem over the last 20 years has been the relatively small size of our beverage operation outside the US where we depend on others for our route to market," said the group's chairman, Mr Dominic Cadbury.

"This is a good deal from a chief executive keen to enhance shareholder value. It transforms Cadbury into a company with net cash of around £1 billion to spend," one analyst said.

Cadbury entered the soft drinks market when it merged with Schweppes in 1969 and then became a big player in the US with the acquisition of Dr Pepper in 1995.

But it has always struggled to compete against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo on the worldwide stage.

Coca-Cola's chairman and chief executive officer Mr Doug Ivester said the deal would give it segments of markets where it did not currently have significant entries. "The Cadbury Schweppes brands will be a wonderful addition to the core brands of the Coca-Cola Company," he said.

Cadbury also said it was actively talking to other parties over the sale of its non-US bottling business and expected a sale to be completed in six to 12 months for £500 million.