- 11 - Brooks Beverage Transaction Brooks Beverage approached Bottlers regarding a business combination shortly after the G&K financing fell through. Brooks Beverage was interested in combining with Bottlers for several reasons. Brooks Beverage wanted to consolidate its position as a large independent bottler. It also preferred that Bottlers not be sold piecemeal to Coke or Pepsi, which might fragment the independent bottling network further. In addition, unbeknownst to Bottlers, Cadbury had already approved Brooks Beverage’s proposed combination with Bottlers. Combining the companies made logistical sense as well because Bottlers served a different geographic region than Brooks Beverage, and Brooks Beverage, therefore, could reach a larger geographic region by combining with Bottlers. Moreover, Bottlers was the third largest independent bottling company in the country, and Brooks Beverage was the second. The two companies, when combined, would offer synergies and economies of scale and would help fortify the entire independent bottling industry. Bottlers agreed to the proposed transaction. Brooks Beverage acquired all the stock of Bottlers for $48.5 million in 1995. The resulting new company was called Beverage America, Inc. (BevAm) (now ABC Beverage Corp.). The management group received stock in BevAm and accepted executive positions with BevAm in the transaction.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011