Research and Markets: PepsiAmericas Is Combining Most of Its Caribbean Business (Excluding the Bahamas) With CABCORP with the Deal Expected To Close In the Third Quarter Of 2009

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/921968/caribbean_food_and) has
announced the addition of the "Caribbean Food and Drink Report Q4 2009" report
to their offering.

The Caribbean Food and Drink Report provides industry professionals and
strategists, corporate analysts, food and drink associations, government
departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive
intelligence on the Caribbean's food and drink industry.

The Caribbean soft drinks market is relatively well developed when compared to
the local food market. Multinational brands have a strong position but beverages
form local producers also continue to hold significant market share. The market
has become increasingly difficult in line with the economic downturn, which has
resulted in a drop in discretionary spending and tourist numbers. Local
producers may also come under further pressure following the news that US-based
bottler PepsiAmericas is to establish a joint venture with Central America
Beverage Corporation (CABCORP) to serve the Caribbean and Central American soft
drinks markets. PepsiAmericas is combining most of its Caribbean business
(excluding the Bahamas) with CABCORP and taking an 18% stake in the venture,
leaving CABCORP with an 82% ownership interest. The deal is expected to close in
the third quarter of 2009. CABCORP is a Guatemala-based business and bills
itself as the 12th largest company in Central America. As Central America's
predominant Pepsi bottler it covers four countries - Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua and El Salvador. Demand for soft drinks in these countries has
increased rapidly over the last five years, in line with increased affluence and
between 2003 and 2008 CABCORP's sales increased by 60%, representing a compound
annual growth rate of 10%.

Meanwhile, PepsiAmericas is the world's second largest Pepsi bottler and will
throw its Caribbean business into the pot. Here the company operates in five
countries - Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and the Bahamas. The
Bahamas is currently serviced from the US and given these existing synergies
PepsiAmericas has decided not to include the territory in the deal.

The tie-up will boost the negotiating power of the new entity when plotting
expansion in the region. Although PepsiAmericas will be the smaller party in
this particular venture it is actually much larger and has very strong ties with
PepsiCo (and may soon actually be part of PepsiCo if a recently agreed takeover
gets approval from US antitrust authorities). CABCORP will see this as an
advantage as it looks to expand across the Caribbean region. Here the soft
drinks market is still fairly fragmented and CABCORP will be looking to put
itself in the best possible position to take advantage of the inevitable
consolidation process. The size and strength of the combined operation will
dwarf most other soft drink operators in the region and we expect the business
to eventually mop up the remaining Pepsi bottlers operating in the Caribbean. In
addition, as the business looks to build market share, the joint venture could
move to acquire other Caribbean soft drink firms that are not associated with
Pepsi but that have developed strong brands in their own right.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* SWOT Analysis
* Macroeconomic Forecasts
* Barbados
* Table: Barbados - Economic Activity, 2006-2013
* Dominican Republic
* Table: Dominican Republic - Economic Activity, 2006-2013
* Jamaica
* Table: Jamaica - Economic Activity, 2006-2013
* Puerto Rico
* Table: Puerto Rico - Economic Activity, 2006-2013
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Table: Trinidad & Tobago - Economic Activity, 2006-2013
* Food
* Drink
* Market Overview
* Industry Forecast Scenario
* Industry Developments
* Competitive Landscape
* Appendix

Companies Mentioned:

* Seprod (Jamaica)
* The Jamaica Drink Company (Wisynco Group) (Jamaica)
* D&G/Red Stripe (Jamaica)
* Wal-Mart (Puerto Rico)
* Supermercados Nacional (Dominican Republic)

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/921968/caribbean_food_and

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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