Will PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper Snapple buy more bottlers?

Coca-Cola Co. is taking over the North American operations of its biggest bottler, and PepsiCo bought its two largest bottlers in February. But both companies still have sprawling networks of smaller bottlers.

Are those companies next up for the mergers and acquisitions machine?

In the wake of their respective multi-billion dollar deals, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo say they have enough on their plates and aren't eager to encourage smaller bottlers to sell out. But both say they wouldn't turn down the right deals.

"We are 110 percent focused on integrating (bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises) into our operations," Coca-Cola chief financial officer Gary Fayard said recently at a Beverage Digest conference in New York. "It’s more than most humans can handle. It’s a huge project."

When asked if Coca-Cola would actively seek sellers or would be a willing buyer, Fayard said the company will evaluate potential deals on a case-by-case basis. "I don’t think there's a simple, easy answer," he said. "Each one of those, we will evaluate on its own merits."

Tom Greco, chief commercial officer of Pepsi Beverages Company, said PepsiCo is not really looking to consolidate other bottlers. "We've obviously got our hands full," he said last week at a conference organized by trade journal Beverage Digest. "If there's an interested seller, we'd be an interested buyer. But I wouldn't say it's a priority."

The volume of merger and acquisitions has slowed dramatically in the U.S. as executives temper their optimism, said Blair Effron, co-founder and partner at advisory and private equity firm Centerview Partners. Deal volume slid as much as 15 percent this year, said Effron, who advised PepsiCo on its bottler deals.