Exclusive: Southern, Glazer’s Sign Letter Of Intent To Form Strategic Alliance
October 22, 2015The middle tier’s consolidation wave is rolling again. Just days after Charmer-Sunbelt and Wirtz Beverage Group joined forces, SND has learned that Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazer’s have signed a letter of intent to form a strategic alliance.
A Southern-Glazer’s union would bring together the country’s first- and fourth-largest spirits and wine wholesalers, respectively, to create a distribution force of unmatched scope and reach. The two wholesalers’ combined revenue surpasses $16 billion, and they collectively operate in more than 40 U.S. states.
Despite the fact that Southern and Glazer’s are giants in their own right, they have little geographical overlap. While the Miami-based Southern operates in 35 markets and the Dallas-based Glazer’s in 15, they only have seven markets in common. SWS is strongest on the coasts—California, Florida and New York comprise more than 60% of its revenues—while Glazer’s is particularly formidable in the country’s interior, with Texas, Louisiana and Missouri its three biggest markets.
This isn’t the first time Southern and Glazer’s have agreed to partner. In August 2008, the companies announced that they intended to merge their operations in a new venture called Southern Glazer’s Distributors of America. But that deal fell through roughly a year later.
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