IC Acquires 2 Wisconsin Pepsi-Cola Bottling Firms

IC Industries Inc., the nation’s second-largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola products, said it had agreed to purchase two Pepsi bottling operations in Wisconsin for an undisclosed sum.

The franchises in Oshkosh and Wisconsin Rapids will become part of Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Inc., an IC subsidiary that bottles about 125 million cases of soda pop annually, Chicago-based IC said in a statement.

The Wisconsin operations, owned by the Pennau family of Oshkosh, bottle a total of 5 million cases annually, IC said.

IC, which is changing its name to Whitman Corp., is a consumer goods and services company with four major operating companies--Pepsi-Cola General, Pet Inc., Hussman Corp. and Midas International.