Sysco to Buy US Foods for $3.5 Billion
Sysco Corp. agreed to acquire US Foods for $3.5 billion in the largest food-distribution deal in eight years, Bloomberg News reported.
Houston-based Sysco has a fleet of more than 7,900 tractors and ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America, and US Foods ranks No. 5 and has about 5,400 tractors and 6,400 trailers.
The combined businesses have about $65 billion in annual sales and will be led by Sysco CEO Bill DeLaney, Bloomberg reported.
Sysco will pay $3 billion in stock and $500 million in cash, and the deal is expected to create supply chain cost savings.
“Combining and maximizing the significant strengths of two outstanding companies is certain to be of tremendous advantage in supporting our customers as they tackle the challenges of today's demanding environment,” John Lederer, CEO of US Foods, said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014.
