On October 1, 2018 Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited (“CCCBL”) announced that it had acquired Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada (“CCRC”) from The Coca-Cola Company. DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, in conjunction with DLA Piper LLP (US), acted as lead M&A counsel to the The Coca-Cola Company through all stages of the transaction.

CCCBL is a Canadian-based joint venture between Larry Tanenbaum O.C., and Junior Bridgeman, a former NBA player and owner of Kansas City-based Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company. With this acquisition, CCCLB assumed over 50 sales and distribution centers and five production plants operating across Canada and employing approximately 5,800 associates. The company will produce a wide variety of beverages, including sparkling soft drinks, still waters, juices and fruit beverages, sports drinks, energy drinks and ready-to-drink teas, many of which are available in no-calorie or low-calorie options.

The Coca-Cola Company is a total beverage company, offering over 500 brands in more than 200 countries and territories and employing over 700,000 people world-wide.

The DLA Piper Canada M&A team in this transaction was led by Russel Drew (Toronto) and included Mackenzie Clark, Grace Latimer, Sandra Appel, Mitchell Smith, Melissa Gaul, Christopher Pejovic, Quinlan Winton, Matylda Makulska, Stephanie Blakely, Lauren Storwick, Ryan Walter and Daniel Zajac. The DLA Piper US team was led by Jeff Baglio (San Diego).
With more than 1,000 corporate lawyers across the world, DLA Piper executes cross-border global deals seamlessly while supporting clients across all stages of their transactions and offering cost-effective, pragmatic business solutions. For the eighth consecutive year, DLA Piper earned the top legal advisor ranking globally for overall M&A deal volume in 2017, according to Mergermarket's league tables. The firm’s global M&A practice was involved in more than 550 transactions worldwide valued at approximately US$102 billion last year.