Kroger Co. agreed to buy the supermarket chain Roundy’s for about $800 million, including debt, adding 151 stores in the Midwestern US
Kroger will pay $3.60 a share in the transaction and refinance Roundy’s $646 million in debt, according to a statement Wednesday. That price is about 65 per cent above what Roundy’s traded at yesterday.
The deal will let Kroger expand in Wisconsin and add 34 Mariano’s locations in the Chicago area. But Roundy’s has struggled to grow in the competitive supermarket industry. The Milwaukee-based company posted a $309.9 million loss last year.
“Kroger’s scale and strong financial position will enable Roundy’s to reinvest in its home state of Wisconsin while continuing to grow in Chicago,” Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement.
Roundy’s also runs the Copps, Pick ’n Save and Metro Market chains.
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