Seattle-based Odom Corp., which operates two beer-and-wine wholesale operations here, has agreed to buy a division of Portland-based Columbia Distributing Co. that serves the same Eastern Washington and North Idaho markets as Odom.


Odom already owns Odom Northwest Beverages Co. and Northwest Select Wines & Spirits here, which together employ 80 people, says Adam Hilpert, general manager of Odoms Spokane-based operations.


The division of Columbia Distributing that Odom is acquiring employs about 300 people, about 90 of whom work in Columbias Spokane office, at 4010 E. Alki, and another 60 of whom work in the divisions Coeur dAlene office, at 3858 N. Schreiber, Hilpert says. The division also has an office in Kennewick, plus sales representatives scattered throughout the territory, he says.


Odom is interviewing the Columbia employees now for possible jobs with Odom after the acquisition, but hasnt decided how many of them it will hire, Hilpert says.


Columbias facilities in Spokane, Coeur dAlene, and Kennewick, Wash., all are leased, and arent included in the acquisition, he says. Its unclear so far whether all of those facilities will continue to be operated or if one or more of them will be consolidated into Odoms facilities, Hilpert says.


The acquisition is set to close on Dec. 1 or Jan. 1, Hilpert says. Terms of the transaction werent disclosed.


The Columbia division carries brands such as Labatt, Pabst, Guinness, and Heineken beers; Mikes Hard Lemonade; and wine labels such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, and Hogue Cellars.


Some Columbia brands will be absorbed by Odoms Northwest Select operation, which carries fine wines, and some by Odom Northwest Beverage, which will adopt the Odom Corp. name thats used by the Seattle-based parent company, Hilpert says.


Columbia Distributing will continue to operate two other divisions that serve Western Washington and Oregon, he says.


Columbia entered the Spokane market in 1997 with the acquisition of Koprivica Beverage Systems here. It bought Panhandle Distributing, of Coeur dAlene, in 2000.


Odom acquired Empire Beverage Inc., of Spokane, last year, as well as the Spokane-area distribution rights to Coors beer, which it bought from B&B Distributors Inc. here. In 1999 the company acquired beer-and-wine distributorships in Coeur dAlene, Sandpoint, and Pullman.


The spate of acquisitions here are part of a nationwide trend toward consolidation in the beer-and-wine wholesaling business, Hilpert says. Odom is known in the industry as a consolidator, he says.