Soda Wars Turn Ugly

Pepsi made a bid weeks ago to buy its largest bottler, Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG).   PBG rejected the bid as too low.

Nothing unusual there, as negotiations like that happen all the time.   But now its turned ugly (and litigious, but that's really the same thing).

According to Dow Jones:

PepsiCo (PEP) filed a lawsuit Monday claiming Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (PBG) and some of its directors intentionally failed to give notice of a recent board meeting to the Pepsi Bottling directors affiliated with the beverage and snack food giant. The move comes a week after Pepsi Bottling rejected a nearly $4.2 billion offer from PepsiCo to buy the remaining two-thirds stake it doesn't already own of its biggest bottler, saying the bid "is grossly inadequate." PepsiCo alleged Monday that the board's actions - including the adoption of a shareholder rights plan - at the meeting are invalid because the full board wasn't present. Such shareholder rights plans, or poison pills, are often put in place to prevent coercive takeovers.

Pepsi v. Pepsi bottling.    Its like family suing family.   Kramer v. Kramer.   Pritzker v. Pritzker.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... the only sure bet to get paid these days is to be a lawyer.