In Business This Week

BIDS ARE BUBBLING FOR PERRIER

It may not be a French national treasure, but Source Perrier comes pretty close. So when Italy's Agnelli family launched a $925 million bid to control the water bottler, warning flags went up. Now, Indosuez, the French investment bank, and Switzerland's Nestle have teamed up to take Perrier for themselves. France's Establishment backs Nestle--even though analysts call its $2.5 billlion offer "skimpy." Then again, no one should raise a glass yet: PepsiCo or Philip Morris could emerge as a white knight.EDITED BY DEIDRE A. DEPKE