BERLIN (AP) - The Coca-Cola Co. said Thursday its German bottling operations have agreed to merge into one entity to serve the whole country.
Most of the contracts have now been signed—with one outstanding—and the combined entity to be known as Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetraenke AG should come into operation Sept. 1, Coca-Cola said in a statement.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.
''A single German bottler will be able to act far more rapidly and flexibly in the market and create the best selling and distribution system for Germany,'' said Chief Executive Neville Isdell.
The combined operations will employ about 12,000 people and have annual sales volumes of about 3.5 billion liters (7.4 billion pints).