CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, the nation’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, has signed a definitive agreement with an affiliate of The Coca-Cola Co. to expand the bottler’s franchise territory to include the Cleveland and Cookeville, Tenn., territories currently served by Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co.
This agreement represents an additional phase of the proposed franchise territory expansion described in the previously announced letter of intent between the bottling company and the Coca-Cola Co. The Company expects the transaction to close by the end of January 2015.
Coca-Cola Consolidated is continuing to work toward a definitive agreement with the Coca-Cola Co. for the remainder of the proposed franchise territory expansion described in the letter of intent, including Louisville, Paducah and Pikeville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind.
“The signing of this definitive agreement represents one of the final steps in completing our expansion in the state of Tennessee as the company will hold distribution rights in the significant majority of territory in eastern and central Tennessee upon completion of this transaction," said Coca-Cola Consolidated chairman and CEO J. Frank Harrison III. "We look forward to serving the Cleveland and Cookeville communities, including our customers, consumers and new employees there.”
The definitive agreement and other agreements to be entered into at closing will provide Coca-Cola Consolidated the exclusive rights to distribute brands owned by the Coca-Cola Co., as well as certain other brands not owned by the Coca-Cola Co. that are currently being distributed in the Cleveland and Cookeville territories by Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR).
The transaction includes the purchase by the company of distribution assets and certain working capital items from CCR relating to these territories and the purchase of exclusive rights to distribute certain non-Coca-Cola brands in these territories.
The transaction also includes the grant by CCR to Coca-Cola Consolidated of exclusive rights to distribute brands owned by the Coca-Cola Co. in these territories under a comprehensive beverage agreement to be entered into at closing. Under such agreement, the company will make a quarterly sub-bottling payment to CCR on a continuing basis after the closing for the grant of such exclusive rights. Coca-Cola Consolidated will not acquire any production assets from CCR and will, with certain exceptions, purchase finished goods from CCR to service customers in these territories.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., Coca-Cola Consolidated is the nation’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler with franchise territories in 11 states. The company’s current major markets include: Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Greenville, the Triad, and Asheville in North Carolina; Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston in South Carolina; Charleston, Beckley, and Parkersburg in West Virginia; Roanoke and Bristol in Virginia; Nashville, Johnson City, Morristown and Knoxville in Tennessee; Columbus and Albany in Georgia; Mobile, Ala.; Panama City, Fla.; and Biloxi, Miss.
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