Supplier News

General Electric Capital Corp., the Stamford, Conn.-based unit of General Electric, boosted its global bond sale to $11 billion from $6 billion in what is being considered the largest U.S. dollar-denominated corporate bond sale ever. The sale includes:
* $4 billion of three-year floating-rate notes yielding 0.125 percentage points more than three-month Libor
(London Interbank Offered Rate), which is now 1.947 percent;
* $2 billion of five-year notes yielding 0.8 percentage points more than five-year U.S. Treasuries, which now yield 4.642 percent, and
* $5 billion of 30-year bonds yielding 1.08 to 1.1 percentage points more than 30-year Treasuries, which now yield 5.75 percent.

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Pepsi Bottling Group Inc., the world's largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola drinks, said on Wednesday it completed the purchase of Fruko, the exclusive Pepsi bottler in Turkey, a move it said would increase worldwide volume by 4 percent.

Pepsi Bottling said it paid about $100 million. Fruko make and sells Pepsi-Cola, 7 Up and a number of local brands, including carbonated soft drinks under the Fruko and Yedigun brands, and Tamek juices. The company sold 46 million cases in 2001, Somers, New York-based Pepsi Bottling said.

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Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. is introducing the new Ripple Grip rectangular bottle to its 64-ounce juices and juice drinks line. Already being tested in Florida, Ocean Spray will begin the national roll out of the package in July. By fall 2002, Ocean Spray's entire 64-ounce juice line will be converted to the new Ripple Grip rectangular bottle.

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GTS Prepaid Inc., a provider of prepaid products and services, has entered into an agreement to offer AT&T's prepaid Internet products to the convenience store chains and supermarkets it services. Under the contract, GTS will offer AT&T PrePaid Internet Service start-up CDs and refill cards, which are powered by the company's AT&T WorldNet Service.

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Grindmaster Crathco Systems Inc. (GCS) celebrated the grand opening of its new manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. GCS Mexico S.A. de C.V. will begin manufacturing in early April. The new 15,000-square-foot facility, combined with the company's global manufacturing strategy, will allow GCS to take advantage of the business climate that exists in Mexico and the opportunities afforded by the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It will also generate economies in labor, raw materials and facility operating costs, without sacrificing quality or delivery.

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Shannon M. Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., which owns and operates five McDonald's locations in the Phoenix area, announced an agreement with Brink's Inc. for its CompuSafe Service, an electronic cash handling system created to provide greater convenience and security for cash-intensive retail operations. Under this agreement, Brink's will provide CompuSafe Service to all of Shannon M.'s McDonald's locations.

Brink's CompuSafe Service provides improved security and accuracy for cash transactions from the time a customer pays to the time the money is deposited in the bank and completely eliminates the manual counting and recounting of cash on site at convenience stores and restaurants.
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