Aboriginal-owned companies purchase Pepsi franchise to service the North
- EFN Staff | May 15, 2014
Three Aboriginal-owned organized have purchased a Pepsi franchise to service Northern Manitoba, parts of Northern Saskatchewan, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut.
Athabasca Basin Development, Prince Albert Development Corp, and Paskwayak Business Development have entered into an agreement to purchase Arctic Beverages.
Marv Tiller, a former CEO of Northwest Company, has initiated and completed a large portfolio of acquisitions and investments throughout his career, and will bring his expertise as the new Board Chair of Arctic Beverages. Tiller, who oversaw the purchase of Arctic Beverages in the early 90s, is very familiar with the company.
"The new ownership is a natural fit and brings a lot to the table for Arctic," says Tiller. "The collective team's experience and expertise, capital resources, and strong track records of success will bring renewed strength to the company and will help grow Arctic Beverages to new levels of success."
Existing management and employees will continue to operate the business as usual, and in addition to the existing team, a CEO position has been created to lead the company. Sean Post, who previously led Arctic Beverages for eight years, will be returning as Arctic's CEO. It was during Post's time that the company expanded its territory to include over 20 per cent of Canada, diversified its product line, and received multiple awards from Pepsi.
"We have enjoyed a successful relationship with Arctic Beverages for many years," says Richard Glover, President, PepsiCo Beverages Canada. "Arctic Beverages has always held a proud position as Canada's only First Nations owned Pepsi franchise and we're very pleased that they'll continue to build on this rich legacy. We were impressed by the results achieved by these three First Nations investment companies, and we believe that the new ownership and governance of Arctic Beverages will enable the organization to continue serving as a great PepsiCo partner for many years to come."
Athabasca Basin Development, an investment company owned by the seven Athabasca communities in Northern Saskatchewan, will be one of the new owners of the company.
"Our three groups form a very solid partnership who share a strong commitment to Arctic Beverages' long term success," says Geoff Gay, CEO of Athabasca Basin Development. "As owners of numerous successful companies, all three of our organizations' shareholders have a true understanding of the challenging logistics in Northern Canada. I am confident that the experienced management team and governance structure, along with the collective financial capacity of all three owners, will restore confidence in Arctic's customers, suppliers and employees, and we look forward to pursuing opportunities to grow this company to its full potential."