The biggest news in the beverage-alcohol industry’s middle tier is getting bigger: Reyes Beverage Group (RBG) will acquire five additional markets from its rival, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC). VinePair has reviewed internal communications from the latter wholesaler describing the purchase, which is an expansion and revision of the previously announced exchange.
“As you know, we have been in discussions with Reyes about their potential acquisition of some of our markets, including Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.,” wrote Marc Sachs, the chief executive officer of RNDC, in a Friday morning memo. “As those conversations have progressed, Reyes recently shared an updated proposal reflecting their intention to acquire additional RNDC markets — Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. As part of this updated proposal, Illinois is no longer part of the proposed transaction.”
RNDC did not respond to a request for comment. In an announcement posted shortly after VinePair’s story was published, RBG issued a press release confirming the details above. “We are incredibly excited to expand our footprint in new and existing markets,” chief executive officer Tom Day says. “This is an important milestone in Reyes’ history, and we thank the RNDC team for their collaboration. Together we are committed to supporting employees and suppliers through this transition.”
The deal is expected to close in May 2026. Sachs told staff that RBG “anticipates welcoming members of our talented teams and is committed to ensuring a smooth and successful transition.” For now, though, “it’s business as usual in all of our markets.”
VinePair and Fingers have previously reported that RNDC is in arrears to small suppliers across the country, with some complaining of five- and six-figures’ worth of unpaid invoices. RNDC has not responded to previous requests for comment on this matter.
The seismic, middle-tier shift comes at a time of ongoing turmoil for RNDC. Less than six months ago, its interim CEO Bob Hendrickson suddenly passed away. He had taken over from RNDC’s former chief executive, Nick Mehall, who stepped down just over a year ago amid the early days of a supplier exodus in California that would ultimately trigger the firm’s full withdrawal from that state in the summer of 2025. RNDC’s initial agreement with RBG, which VinePair was first to report in January 2026, was the preliminary big M&A bite out of the former’s 38-state empire, but industry observers guessed it would not be the last. Since then, RNDC — like rivals Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Breakthru Beverage Group —has conducted layoffs across the organization.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Send tips to [email protected] or dinfontay.11 on Signal. Anonymity available.
