US: Sprouts farmers and Sunflower Farmers announce merger
The addition of Sunflower's 35 stores expands Sprouts' geographic footprint to Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma and further extends its presence in California, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. Overall, the combined company plans to open up to 13 new stores during 2012. It is currently expected that all of the Sunflower stores will be re-branded under the Sprouts banner by the end of 2012. The combined company will be a prominent player in the Western United States retail food industry, with projected 2012 annual revenues approaching $2 billion.
Sprouts is majority-owned by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, including its affiliate AAA Investments, L.P. (the investment partnership of AP Alternative Assets, L.P. Sprouts is operated by the Boney Family and an executive team with many years of collective experience in the grocery business. Sunflower, co-founded in 2002 by Libby Cook and Randy Clapp, is privately owned by the co-founders, management and KMCP Advisors, a provider of private expansion capital. The combined company will continue to be majority-owned and controlled by Apollo.
Andrew S. Jhawar, a Senior Partner at Apollo and Co-Head of Apollo's Consumer and Retail Industry Group, said, "We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to bring together the management and operations of these two growth-oriented grocery retailers who focus on natural and organic products. In doing so, Sprouts will become an even better company offering more value to the nearly 1.5 million customers who regularly shop at the combined company's stores. This is a combination that makes great sense given the rapid growth in demand for natural and organic products and the complementary nature of the geography of the two companies. Apollo is excited to support Sprouts' dynamic management team and to help the company prepare for continued growth throughout the United States."
Stan Boney, Chairman of the Board of Sprouts, said, "Andy and the team at Apollo have been very supportive in helping us to continue to grow our company. Sprouts is now making a meaningful contribution to the lives of almost 10,000 employees and millions of customers, who appreciate the value offered in our stores. Sprouts has come a long way from its beginning only 10 years ago."
Chris Sherrell, Sunflower President and CEO, said, "This is an exciting development. Over the past 10 years, both Sprouts and Sunflower have offered healthy food at a great value, while providing a friendly shopping experience in an easy-to-navigate store format. Merging the resources and talents of both companies means we'll be able to accelerate new store growth and optimize our offerings. I'm confident that both Sunflower and Sprouts customers and employees will be impressed with the evolution and advancement our companies can achieve together."
Source: www.marketwatch.com
