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Related Party Transactions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 28, 2014
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]  
Related Party Transactions

19.    Related Party Transactions

The Company’s business consists primarily of the production, marketing and distribution of nonalcoholic beverages of The Coca-Cola Company, which is the sole owner of the secret formulas under which the primary components (either concentrate or syrup) of its soft drink products are manufactured. As of December 28, 2014, The Coca-Cola Company had a 34.8% interest in the Company’s outstanding Common Stock, representing 5.0% of the total voting power of the Company’s Common Stock and Class B Common Stock voting together as a single class. As long as The Coca-Cola Company holds the number of shares of Common Stock that it currently owns, it has the right to have its designee proposed by the Company for the nomination to the Company’s Board of Directors, and J. Frank Harrison, III, the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and trustees of certain trusts established for the benefit of certain relatives of J. Frank Harrison, Jr., have agreed to vote their share of the Company’s Class B Common Stock which they control in favor of such designee. The Coca-Cola Company does not own any shares of Class B Common Stock of the Company.

The following table summarizes the significant transactions between the Company and The Coca-Cola Company:

 

     Fiscal Year  

In Millions

   2014      2013      2012  

Payments by the Company for concentrate, syrup, sweetener and other purchases

   $ 424.0       $ 410.6       $ 406.2   

Marketing funding support payments to the Company

     46.5         43.5         43.2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Payments by the Company net of marketing funding support

   $ 377.5       $ 367.1       $ 363.0   

Payments by the Company for customer marketing programs

   $ 61.1       $ 56.4       $ 56.8   

Payments by the Company for cold drink equipment parts

     7.7         9.3         9.2   

Fountain delivery and equipment repair fees paid to the Company

     13.5         12.7         11.9   

Presence marketing support provided by The Coca-Cola Company on the Company’s behalf

     5.9         5.4         3.5   

Payments to the Company to facilitate the distribution of certain brands and packages to other Coca-Cola bottlers

     3.9         4.0         2.6   

The Company has a production arrangement with Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc. (“CCR”) to buy and sell finished products at cost. CCR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Sales to CCR under this arrangement were $53.5 million, $60.2 million and $64.6 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Purchases from CCR under this arrangement were $68.8 million, $46.7 million and $31.3 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In addition, CCR distributes one of the Company’s own brands (Tum-E Yummies). Total sales to CCR for this brand were $22.0 million, $23.8 million and $22.8 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In addition, the Company transports product for CCR to the Company’s and other Coca-Cola bottlers’ locations. Total sales to CCR for transporting CCR’s product were $2.9 million, $0.9 million, and $0.9 million in 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively.

On May 7, 2014, the Company and CCR entered into the May Asset Purchase Agreement relating to the territory served by CCR through CCR’s facilities and equipment located in Johnson City and Morristown, Tennessee. The closing of the transaction contemplated by the May Asset Purchase Agreement occurred on May 23, 2014. On August 28, 2014, the Company and CCR entered into the August Asset Purchase Agreement relating to the territory served by CCR through CCR’s facilities and equipment located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The closing of the transaction contemplated by the August Asset Purchase Agreement occurred on October 24, 2014. As part of the asset purchase agreements, the Company signed CBAs which have terms of ten years and are renewable by the Company indefinitely for successive additional terms of ten years each unless the CBAs are earlier terminated as provided therein. Under the CBAs, the Company will make a quarterly sub-bottling payment to CCR on a continuing basis for the grant of exclusive rights to distribute, promote, market and sell the authorized brands of The Coca-Cola Company and related products in the Expansion Territories. The quarterly sub-bottling payment will be based on sales of certain beverages and beverage products that are sold under the same trademarks that identify a Covered Beverage, Related Product or certain cross-licensed brands. As of December 28, 2014, the Company has recorded a liability of $46.9 million to reflect the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration related to the future sub-bottling payments. Total payments to CCR under the CBAs for the May and October Expansion Territories were $0.2 million during 2014.

See Note 26 to the consolidated financial statements for territory acquisitions completed with CCR and a signed agreement for an additional territory expansion with CCR which occurred subsequent to December 28, 2014. Also see Note 26 for terms of an asset exchange agreement with CCR which is expected to close in the first half of 2015.

Along with all the other Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States, the Company is a member in Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales and Services Company, LLC (“CCBSS”), which was formed in 2003 for the purposes of facilitating various procurement functions and distributing certain specified beverage products of The Coca-Cola Company with the intention of enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the Coca-Cola bottling system in the United States. CCBSS negotiates the procurement for the majority of the Company’s raw materials (excluding concentrate). The Company pays an administrative fee to CCBSS for its services. Administrative fees to CCBSS for its services were $0.5 million in each year 2014, 2013 and 2012. Amounts due from CCBSS for rebates on raw material purchases were $4.5 million and $5.1 million as of December 28, 2014 and December 29, 2013, respectively. CCR is also a member of CCBSS.

The Company is a member of SAC, a manufacturing cooperative. SAC sells finished products to the Company and Piedmont at cost. Purchases from SAC by the Company and Piedmont for finished products were $132 million, $137 million and $141 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In addition, the Company transports product for SAC to the Company’s and other Coca-Cola bottlers’ locations. Total sales to SAC for transporting SAC’s product were $7.7 million, $7.6 million, and $7.6 million in 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. The Company also manages the operations of SAC pursuant to a management agreement. Management fees earned from SAC were $1.8 million, $1.6 million and $1.5 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The Company has also guaranteed a portion of debt for SAC. Such guarantee amounted to $20.8 million as of December 28, 2014. The Company’s equity investment in SAC was $4.1 million as of both December 28, 2014 and December 29, 2013.

The Company is a shareholder in two entities from which it purchases substantially all of its requirements for plastic bottles. Net purchases from these entities were $78.4 million, $79.1 million and $82.3 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. In conjunction with the Company’s participation in one of these entities, Southeastern, the Company has guaranteed a portion of the entity’s debt. Such guarantee amounted to $10.1 million as of December 28, 2014. The Company’s equity investment in Southeastern was $18.4 million and $17.6 million as of December 28, 2014 and December 29, 2013, respectively, and was recorded in other assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

The Company holds no assets as collateral against the SAC or Southeastern guarantees, the fair value of which is immaterial.

 

The Company monitors its investments in SAC and Southeastern and would be required to write down its investment if an impairment is identified and the Company determined it to be other than temporary. No impairment of the Company’s investments in SAC or Southeastern has been identified as of December 28, 2014 nor was there any impairment in 2014, 2013 and 2012.

The Company leases from Harrison Limited Partnership One (“HLP”) the Snyder Production Center (“SPC”) and an adjacent sales facility, which are located in Charlotte, North Carolina. HLP is directly and indirectly owned by trusts of which J. Frank Harrison, III, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Deborah H. Everhart, a director of the Company, are trustees and beneficiaries. Morgan H. Everett, a director of the Company, is a permissible, discretionary beneficiary of the trusts that directly or indirectly own HLP. The lease expires on December 31, 2020. The annual base rent the Company is obligated to pay under the lease is subject to an adjustment for an inflation factor. The principal balance outstanding under this capital lease as of December 28, 2014 was $20.0 million. Rental payments related to this lease were $3.7 million, $3.6 million and $3.5 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The Company leases from Beacon Investment Corporation (“Beacon”) the Company’s headquarters office facility and an adjacent office facility. The lease expires on December 31, 2021. Beacon’s majority shareholder is J. Frank Harrison, III, and Morgan H. Everett, his daughter and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, is a minority shareholder. The principal balance outstanding under this capital lease as of December 28, 2014 was $20.6 million. The annual base rent the Company is obligated to pay under the lease is subject to adjustment for increases in the Consumer Price Index.

The minimum rentals and contingent rental payments that relate to this lease were as follows:

 

     Fiscal Year  

In Millions

   2014      2013      2012  

Minimum rentals

   $ 3.5       $ 3.5       $ 3.5   

Contingent rentals

     0.6         0.6         0.5   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total rental payments

   $ 4.1       $ 4.1       $ 4.0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The contingent rentals in 2014, 2013 and 2012 are a result of changes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases or decreases in lease payments that result from changes in the Consumer Price Index were recorded as adjustments to interest expense.