There has been no shortage of speculation this year about whether PepsiCo will follow Coca-Cola’s lead in refranchising its U.S. soft drink bottling and distribution system. Some industry insiders believe the company’s recent CEO hand over to Ramon Laguarta could open the door to a strategy change. Others wonder how challenging it would be for PepsiCo to line up buyers for a full-scale refranchising. PepsiCo executives have said