Read RNDC's farewell memo to the 11 markets it sold to Reyes

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated periodically with new information. If you have tips about what’s going on at RNDC, please get in touch by emailing me ([email protected]) or texting me on Signal (dinfontay.11). Anonymity available.—Dave.

Republic National Distributing Company closed on its semi-national firesale to Reyes Beverage Group today, Fingers has learned.

On Friday afternoon, RNDC chief executive Marc Sachs sent a memo to the firm’s employees marking the consummation of the mega-deal, which sees its ascendant former rival take control of 11 of its markets.

“For those associates transitioning to Reyes, thank you for your years of service,” he wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fingers from a current worker, who shared it on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize their job with the old boss or the new boss. “Personally, have been honored to work with many of you for over twenty years and I appreciate your appreciate your grit, focus and professionalism through this transition.”

This acquisition is RBG’s largest to-date, extending our footprint to 16 states, representing nearly 52% of the U.S. legal drinking age (LDA) consumer population within the states we operate,” announced RBG in a statement shared with Fingers. “These businesses will now operate as RBG Spirits and Wine, adding approximately 5,200 employees, over 135,000 new customers and roughly 38 million annual cases to its operations.”

The brief dispatch noted that the wholesalers’ Hawaii transaction was “still subject to receipt of certain remaining regulatory approvals.” However, RBG’s statement seems to indicate the deal for that market had also closed.

“We have completed all necessary regulatory requirements in Hawaii,” Laurel Slick, RBG’s vice president of corporate affairs, clarified to Fingers in a follow-up email. “For purposes of our employees and operations, we have a plan in place to allow for a successful day one start.”

RNDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the message, Sachs also alluded to the parade of sales still to come as RNDC cuts back its empire—which totaled 39 states in 2024—to just a handful of remaining markets, as Fingers recently mapped. “There are still additional pending transactions progressing across other parts of the business, each with its own timeline and approvals,” Sachs wrote.

RNDC’s dramatic decline has left an unknown number of suppliers, landlords, and vendors desperate to recoup unpaid rent and overdue invoices. Smaller firms with less liquidity are getting rocked by the missing remittances.

“It's well into the six figures,” one supplier told Fingers recently, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid hurting their chances of clawing back cash after RNDC had officially exited markets they do business in. “Not only are we waiting to be paid the monies that they owe us, but the fact that we've not been sending inventory to them means we're losing customers, because naturally, we can't expect [retailers] to hold on for too long,”

It is not clear whether, or on what timeline, successor firms like RBG might make good on those debts. Slick, spokesperson for RBG did not address an emailed question on this matter.

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