The Coca-Cola Company today announced a letter of intent to refranchise territories to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.
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The Coca-Cola Company expects to refranchise most of the Memphis, Tenn., market unit to Charlotte, N.C.-based Consolidated. This area includes portions of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, including Little Rock. Consolidated also expects to acquire production facilities in Memphis, Tenn., and West Memphis, Ark.
Separately, Consolidated has signed a letter of intent for a small territory owned by The Coca-Cola Company that is centered on Louisa, Ky., with operations that span into West Virginia.
In addition, a number of facilities and territories in the Southeast will be exchanged under letters of intent involving Consolidated, fellow bottler Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED and the Coca-Cola Refreshments unit of The Coca-Cola Company.
The expected agreements will lead to the creation of more contiguous territories for both Consolidated and UNITED in the Southeast:
Birmingham, Ala.-based UNITED will acquire Consolidated’s Deep South Territory, which spans parts of Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
This territory includes nine sales centers, plus a production facility in Mobile, Ala. Currently, these operations are not geographically connected to other Consolidated territories, while they are contiguous to UNITED operations.
UNITED will acquire Consolidated’s Tennessee and Alabama territory that is serviced from its Florence, Ala., sales center, along with Consolidated’s Panama City, Fla., territory. These areas are contiguous to UNITED operations.
Consolidated will acquire UNITED-owned territories in South Carolina around the cities of Bluffton and Spartanburg. These UNITED areas sit amidst Consolidated territories.
On April 29, The Coca-Cola Company and Consolidated also closed a previously announced agreement to refranchise territory centered on Baltimore. This deal included production facilities in Baltimore and Silver Spring, Md.
These agreements are part of a plan to refranchise all of The Coca-Cola Company’s North American territories by the end of 2017. ■