RNDC files for bankruptcy as distributor seeks buyers for remaining business
The US drinks distributor has entered Chapter 11 after months of selling operations across the country, with the court-supervised process intended to facilitate further sales and an orderly wind-down of its remaining business.
Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) has entered voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings as it looks to sell its remaining operations after a prolonged period of restructuring.
The company announced that it filed for bankruptcy protection on 26 July, describing the move as a means of exploring court-supervised sale transactions while carrying out an orderly wind down of the business.
National Distributing Company, Inc. has not been included in the filing. Among RNDC’s joint ventures, only its Alaska operation forms part of the Chapter 11 process, with joint ventures in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky continuing outside the proceedings.
Restructuring reaches final stage
RNDC said the filing follows several months of divesting operations across multiple states in an effort to preserve jobs and maintain service for suppliers and customers.
According to a company statement, those transactions safeguarded more than 5,000 jobs before its financial position ultimately required a court-supervised restructuring.
“The court-supervised process is intended to give us the time and flexibility to continue working with parties that have expressed an interest in acquiring our other markets and conduct an orderly wind down of our remaining operations,” the company said.
RNDC added that it had secured a financing commitment from certain lenders to support the business during the Chapter 11 process and intends to continue meeting its obligations under transition service agreements linked to previously completed asset sales.
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Mounting pressure
The distributor attributed its collapse to structural changes across the US drinks market.
“Over time, our industry has evolved, consumer preferences have shifted and the wholesale environment has grown increasingly challenging,” the company said.
RNDC thanked suppliers, customers and employees for their support, adding that the decision to seek bankruptcy protection “was not made lightly”.
Months of uncertainty
As previously reported by the drinks business, RNDC had already begun dismantling significant parts of its business following its withdrawal from California in September 2025 after losing major supplier accounts including Brown-Forman and Tito’s.
In January, the company agreed terms to sell operations in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to Reyes Beverage Group, preserving thousands of jobs and signalling that RNDC’s national footprint would be significantly reduced.
The California exit followed a series of major supplier departures that exposed growing pressure on the traditional three-tier distribution model, with Silicon Valley Bank warning at the time that RNDC’s difficulties reflected wider structural challenges facing US wholesalers.
The company had also lost several high-profile supplier relationships over the past two years, including Brown-Forman, Pernod Ricard and Treasury Wine Estates, as major producers increasingly reconsidered their distribution strategies.
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