Breakthru Beverage Group is result of the 2015 merger between Wirtz Beverage Group and Charmer Sunbelt Group. RNDC was formed in 2007 following the merger of the Republic Beverage Company and National Distributing Company. At the time of the announcement, Conner said: “The transaction likely would have adversely impacted suppliers of wine and spirits that depend on these distributors to promote and distribute their products, and retail and foodservice customers that purchase those products from RNDC and Breakthru.” There were fears that the deal “likely would have resulted in higher prices and diminished service in the distribution of wine and spirits in several states”. According to Ian R Conner, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, the government agency was concerned about “likely anticompetitive harm if the transaction were completed”. It seems regulators are acknowledging concerns expressed by industry stakeholders over many years: that America’s distribution tier is being squeezed to the point of suffocation. However, almost 18 months after announcing their intentions, the two firms ended discussions following a “protracted review” by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Just a year after US$17.5 billion giant Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) was created, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) and Breakthru Beverage Group, the second- and third-largest wine and spirits wholesalers in the US, revealed plans to merge and form a US$12bn company in November 2017. *This feature was originally published in the May 2019 issue of The Spirits BusinessĬonsolidation has become a ubiquitous buzzword in the US distribution belt. The Spirits Business discovers what this means for brands big and small. The collapse of the merger between Republic National Distributing Company and Breakthru Beverage Group means Southern Glazer’s reigns supreme in the US.

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