Grocery wholesaler Unified Western Grocers has completed its US$38.5m acquisition of Seattle-based Associated Grocers (AG).
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The deal includes AG’s inventory of grocery products, equipment and furnishings, while the liabilities include its payables, the non-union employee pension plan and the lease on the company’s Seattle warehouse. Unified has also taken on around 650 AG employees, the company stated.
Unified announced that it had obtained new supply agreements from the majority of AG’s existing customer base of grocery retailers, and had also assumed certain existing supply agreements between AG and other retail customers.
“This is a significant milestone in the history of our company,” said Unified’s president and CEO Alfred Plamann. “In addition to strengthening our position as the largest retailer-owned wholesale grocery cooperative in the Western United States, we have created an organisation that will help our retail members and customers improve their competitiveness in the marketplace.”
John Runyan, the former president and CEO of Associated Grocers who is now serving as executive advisor to Plamann, said: “We are thrilled that this transaction has been completed and we are looking forward to the benefits we know it will bring to our customers, our vendor and supplier partners and, of course, our employees. Our future is secure and our prospects for growth are excellent.”
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By GlobalDataUnified added that the final purchase figure is subject to customary post-closing adjustments over the next 45 days. The deal was first announced in May.
