In April, A-B rejected a Southeast megamerger between RA Jeffreys, Crown and Southern Eagle that would have spanned 500 miles across three states and amounted to 30 million cases a year. A-B said it would be "unwieldy," offer little synergies and ultimately endanger the brands, opening up these family companies to interfamilial squabbles [see BBD 04-06-2017]. A-B filed a preemptive suit in North Carolina the day they denied the merger, citing their equity agreement.