- New markets in Ohio and West Virginia
- Acquisition of manufacturing facility in Twinsburg, Ohio
Company Website:
http://www.cokeconsolidated.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- (Business Wire)
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) (the "Company") today
announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent with The
Coca-Cola Company to expand the Company's distribution territory in
parts of Ohio and West Virginia and to purchase and operate a
manufacturing facility in Twinsburg, Ohio (“February 2016 Letter of
Intent”). The transactions proposed in the February 2016 Letter of
Intent would provide exclusive distribution rights for the Company in
territories located within northern Ohio and northern West Virginia,
including the following major markets: Akron, Elyria, Toledo,
Willoughby, and Youngstown County in Ohio. Coca-Cola Refreshments USA,
Inc. ("CCR"), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company,
currently serves these territories and owns and operates the Twinsburg
manufacturing facility.
“We are excited about this opportunity to expand our Company into
additional markets,” said Frank Harrison, Chairman and CEO. “We are
continuing to integrate recently acquired distribution territories and
look forward to serving new customers, consumers, communities and
employees in Ohio and West Virginia.”
The Company has recently expanded its distribution territory in parts of
Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland and is
working to close a series of transactions for additional distribution
territory covered by the previously announced definitive agreement with
The Coca-Cola Company from September 2015. The Company also is
continuing to work towards a definitive agreement with The Coca-Cola
Company for the remainder of the proposed territory expansion described
in the previously announced letter of intent from May 2015, including
distribution territories in parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Kentucky.
The Company has recently completed the acquisition of a manufacturing
facility in Sandston, Virginia and is working to close a series of
transactions for two additional manufacturing facilities in Silver
Spring, Maryland and Baltimore, Maryland covered by the previously
announced definitive agreement with The Coca-Cola Company from October
2015. The Company is continuing to work towards a definitive agreement
with The Coca-Cola Company for the remainder of the manufacturing
facility acquisitions described in the previously announced letter of
intent from September 2015, including manufacturing facilities located
in Indianapolis, Indiana; Portland, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio.
The transactions proposed in the February 2016 Letter of Intent are
subject to the parties reaching definitive agreements, with transaction
closings expected to occur in 2017. There is no assurance, however, that
any definitive agreement will be reached or that the closings of the
transactions contemplated by the February 2016 Letter of Intent will
occur. The Company will file a report on Form 8-K with the Securities
and Exchange Commission with additional information regarding the
proposed territory expansion and acquisition of manufacturing assets and
certain other matters addressed in the February 2016 Letter of Intent
that will be available on the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov
and on the Company’s website at http://www.cokeconsolidated.com.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Consolidated is the nation’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler.
Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Included in this news release and other information that we make
publicly available from time to time are forward-looking management
comments and other statements that reflect management’s current outlook
for our performance in future periods and management’s expectations for
completing the proposed territory expansions and manufacturing facility
acquisitions.The words "believe," "expect," "project," "will,"
"should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those
forward-looking statements.These statements include, among
others, statements regarding the time frame for completing the proposed
territory expansions and manufacturing facility acquisitions and other
potential opportunities for profitably growing our business as well as
our plans for continuing to innovate and evolve packaging and marketing
strategies to respond to ever-changing consumer tastes.
These statements and expectations are based on currently available
competitive, financial and economic data along with our operating plans
and are subject to future events and uncertainties that could cause
anticipated events not to occur or actual results to differ materially
from historical or anticipated results.Among the events or
uncertainties which could adversely affect future periods are: lower
than expected selling pricing resulting from increased marketplace
competition; changes in how significant customers market or promote our
products; changes in our top customer relationships; changes in public
and consumer preferences related to nonalcoholic beverages; unfavorable
changes in the general economy; miscalculation of our need for
infrastructure investment; our inability to meet requirements under
beverage agreements; material changes in the performance requirements
for marketing funding support or our inability to meet such
requirements; decreases from historic levels of marketing funding
support; changes in The Coca-Cola Company’s and other beverage
companies’ levels of advertising, marketing and spending on brand
innovation; the inability of our aluminum can or plastic bottle
suppliers to meet our purchase requirements; our inability to offset
higher raw material costs with higher selling prices, increased
bottle/can sales volume or reduced expenses; consolidation of raw
material suppliers could impact our profitability; increased purchases
of finished goods subject us to incremental risks that could impact our
profitability; sustained increases in fuel costs or our inability to
secure adequate supplies of fuel; sustained increases in workers’
compensation, employment practices and vehicle accident claims costs;
sustained increases in the cost of employee benefits; product liability
claims or product recalls; technology failures; changes in interest
rates; the impact of debt levels on operating flexibility and access to
capital and credit markets; adverse changes in our credit rating
(whether as a result of our operations or prospects or as a result of
those of The Coca-Cola Company or other bottlers in the Coca-Cola
system); changes in legal contingencies; legislative changes affecting
our distribution and packaging; adoption of significant product labeling
or warning requirements; additional taxes resulting from tax audits;
natural disasters and unfavorable weather; global climate change or
legal or regulatory responses to such change; issues surrounding labor
relations; bottler system disputes; our use of estimates and
assumptions; changes in accounting standards; impact of obesity and
health concerns on product demand; public policy challenges regarding
the sale of soft drinks in schools; the impact of volatility in the
financial markets on access to the credit markets; the impact of
acquisitions or dispositions of bottlers by their franchisors; and the
concentration of our capital stock ownership.The forward-looking
statements in this news release should be read in conjunction with the
more detailed descriptions of the above factors located in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2014 under Part I,
Item 1A “Risk Factors” and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarterly period ended September 27, 2015 under Part II, Item 1A “Risk
Factors,” as well as those additional factors we may describe from time
to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this
release as a result of new information or future events or developments.
—Enjoy Coca-Cola—
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209005848/en/
Contacts:
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated
Media Contact:
Kimberly Kuo
Senior
Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications and Communities
704-763-3245
or
Investor
Contact: James E. Harris
Senior Vice President, Shared Services &
CFO
704-557-4582
Source: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated
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