ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Below
QUIBELL CORP. has been shut for a month, out of bottles after a supplier cut off credit.
Quibell Corp., facing two lawsuits and mounting bills, said Monday it is negotiating a sale to Soho Beverages Inc. of Herndon.
"I feel confident that the deal will come off," said Andrew Goldstein, counsel for the Roanoke-based beverage company. "But they're still a little ways off."
The announcement comes just a month after Quibell suspended its Roanoke bottling operations following a billing dispute with its bottle supplier, Zuckerman-Honickman Inc. of King of Prussia, Pa. Quibell's plant in the Centre for Industry and Technology remains closed.
Soho is a privately owned company that, like Quibell, produces so-called "new-age" beverages, including flavored sparkling waters and sodas. No one at Soho could be reached for comment Monday.
Quibell's financial problems became apparent in mid-April, when Zuckerman-Honickman refused to ship any more bottles to Roanoke until Quibell paid an invoice of approximately $600,000. Quibell continues to negotiate with the company but has not reached an agreement, Goldstein said.
Other creditors since then have lined up against Quibell. A Roanoke City Circuit Court judge granted a request by NationsBank Corp. - to which Quibell owes almost $900,000 - to temporarily stop the company from selling any assets. And Corrugated Container Corp. of Roanoke County on May 9 filed a suit in Roanoke County Circuit Court to collect $21,966, alleging unpaid invoices. Quibell has not responded to the suit.
Privately owned Quibell, which began selling spring water in 1987 and produced 1.5 million cases of water in 1995, is known in the beverage industry as a closed-mouthed company. Jennifer Levine of the International Bottled Water Association said Quibell is, to her knowledge, the largest bottled water company that does not belong to the trade group. But the news that Quibell is for sale comes as no surprise to many water watchers.
"We have known for some time that Quibell is in trouble," said Hellen Berry, vice president of marketing research for Beverage Marketing Corp., a New York consulting firm.
Stories of the company's financial ills led Soho and several other beverage companies to approach Quibell, Goldstein said. Many of the bids were unacceptable "bottom-fishing" offers, but Soho is an experienced bottler, he said, and made an attractive offer. He declined to reveal terms of the offer.
The timing also was right for company President Ronald Quibell, who is 73 and spends much of his time in his native South Africa, Goldstein said.
Although the deal hasn't been completed, Goldstein said he believes the bottling operations based in Roanoke will remain here, and that production likely will increase, with more brands and more employees. At the time Quibell closed, it employed an estimated 20 people. Soho will keep the Quibell name, he said.
If the deal does go through, Quibell still will have to reach repayment agreements with Zuckerman-Honickman, Corrugated Container and other suppliers, Goldstein said. But if the beverage company can return to production soon, he said, Quibell's distribution system should remain intact.
"Quibell has weathered the storm and has found the right marriage," he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB