SYSCO Corporation, North America’s largest foodservice marketer and distributor, and Sobeys Inc. today [Tuesday] jointly announced their intention to offer for sale the Pacific Division operations of SERCA Foodservice Inc.
The operations are offered for sale in connection with the previously announced acquisition by SYSCO of the SERCA foodservice operations from Sobeys.
The purpose of the sale is to allow the Pacific Division to continue as a broadline foodservice distributor in British Columbia, independent of SYSCO. Both the sale of the Pacific Division operations and SYSCO’s acquisition of the SERCA operations are subject to numerous conditions, including obtaining the approval of the Competition Bureau of Canada.
SYSCO is the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America. Generating sales of approximately C$22.6bn for calendar year 2001, the company provides products and services to about 370,000 customers, including restaurants, healthcare and educational institutions, lodging establishments and other foodservice operations. The SYSCO distribution network, supported by more than 43,000 employees, currently extends throughout the entire contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii as well as portions of Canada. For more information about SYSCO, visit the company’s home page at www.sysco.com.
Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Sobeys Inc. is Canada’s second largest retail grocer and distributor. Sobeys operates over 1,300 corporate and franchise stores in all 10 provinces under a range of retail banners, including Sobeys, Garden Market IGA, IGA extra and Price Chopper. Sobeys is committed to satisfying its customers’ current demands for products and services, and exceeding their expectations with value-added offerings in the future. The company achieved overall sales of C$11.37bn for its fiscal year ended May 5, 2001.
