A new logo earlier this year signaled big changes afoot at PepsiCo, the $43.3 billion soft drink and snacks company headquartered in Purchase, N.Y. On Sunday, PepsiCo followed with plans to take over its two largest independent bottlers, including the Minneapolis-based PepsiAmericas, a Pohlad family enterprise.
The $6 billion offer -- $23.27 per share in cash and stock for PepsiAmericas and $29.50 in cash and stock for Pepsi Bottling Group, based in Somers, N.Y. -- would give the company more control of its bottling system while channeling some savings back to the company because of shared costs.
A spokeswoman for PepsiAmericas said she didn't know if the board on Monday was considering the offer, or even if it was meeting. The stock Friday closed at just under $20 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. The offer represents a 17 percent premium for each company, valuing PepsiAmericas at $2.9 billion.
The Pepsi Bottling Group, which reported a loss of $271 million in its most recent quarter, was valued at $6.4 billion by the deal.
Both stocks closed higher than the offer prices Monday, a sign that Wall Street thinks the deals could be sweetened. PepsiAmericas closed at $25.04, while Pepsi Bottling ended regular trading at $30.73.
Philip Gorham, an analyst at Morningstar Research, said he thinks PepsiCo is moving now to take advantage of low equity prices for the bottlers. PepsiAmericas has traded for between $14.51 and $27.02 in the past year.
"I think it's a fair price," Gorham said. "The prices they've offered are very close to what we had as far as estimates for both firms."
PepsiAmericas bills itself as the world's second-largest bottler of Pepsi products, responsible for 19 percent of Pepsi products sold in the United States. It also has large operations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.
