PepsiCo Announces New Post-Merger Bottling Unit

PepsiCo has announced plans to create PepsiCo Bottling North America after it reunites with its biggest bottlers, PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Group.

PepsiCo sold off the bottlers a decade ago to streamline its business, but now that the soft drink market is more diverse, with sports drinks and vitamin waters taking market share from traditional sodas, PepsiCo thinks it will be better off with a more integrated system.

PepsiCo offered $6 billion in May for the shares it did not already own in PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Group, but the two companies rejected the offer, with Pepsi Bottling calling it "grossly inadequate." The deal finally went through in August, after PepsiCo upped its bid to $7.8 billion.

Pepsi Bottling CEO Eric Foss will head up the new company, which will handle about three fourths of Pepsi drinks in North America. The merger should be completed by early 2010 at the latest, according to PepsiCo.