DALLAS, TX – January 24, 2014 – Republic National Distributing Company USA (RNDC) and National Wine and Spirits of Michigan (National) today announced their agreement to create a joint venture in the state of Michigan. The two companies will join together to distribute wines and spirits through the State’s Authorized Distribution Agent (ADA) system and National’s existing wine wholesale distributor and current brokerage company. The new company will be named “RNDC National” to reflect a shared vision and alignment between the two companies.

The new joint venture will benefit from National’s market-leading spirits position, winery partnerships and beer alliances as well as RNDC’s industry-leading sales, marketing and supply chain management expertise.

Tom Cole, President of RNDC-USA, said, “We are excited to partner with Jim LaCrosse, John Baker and their Michigan team to bring superior service and offerings from our supplier partners to Michigan retailers and restaurateurs. We are fortunate to represent many outstanding producers through our ADA, wholesale and brokerage partnership with NWS Michigan and look forward to our growth prospects in the Great Lakes State.”

Added John Baker, COO & Director of National, “NWS has already built strong and trusted partnerships with RNDC in Indiana and Kentucky, so we understand and have experienced the tremendous upside of expanding the NWS-RNDC relationship to the great state of Michigan. There are many winners in this equation: the State & ADA system, supplier partners, licensees, and employees. We are excited about the future.”

The transaction is expected to close in the next few weeks subject to closing conditions.

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