The acquisition of Smart & Final Stores will allow the U.S. unit of Grupo Comercial Chedraui to boost its geographic footprint in places such as California.
Photo: Amy Katz/Zuma Press
Mexican retailer Grupo Comercial Chedraui SA CHDRAUIB -0.23% agreed to buy grocer Smart & Final Stores LLC for more than $600 million, people familiar with the matter said, expanding its presence in a U.S. supermarket business that boomed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. APO 0.79% is selling Smart & Final to Bodega Latina Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Chedraui, the people said. New York-based Apollo took the retailer private roughly two years ago for more than $1 billion, and sold its warehouse business to distributor US Foods Holding Corp. for $970 million last year.
The deal comes as grocery sales have grown robustly over the past year. More people stayed home and cooked after restaurants and bars shut down during the pandemic. Sales growth for grocers has slowed in recent months from the onset of the pandemic last year, when shoppers stockpiled goods.
Other international buyers have made supermarket acquisitions in the U.S. recently. Japan-based Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp. agreed to buy Gelson’s Markets in California earlier this year, while Korea’s E-mart Inc. bought Good Food Holdings, the owner of Bristol Farms and New Seasons Market, in 2018.
For Bodega Latina, which owns the El Super and Fiesta Mart chains, the acquisition will boost its geographic footprint in the western U.S., including California and Arizona.
Deal making in the supermarket industry has recently been mixed. Southeastern Grocers LLC, which operates Winn-Dixie in the Southern U.S., shelved plans to go public earlier this year. Fresh Market Inc., also owned by Apollo, made a preliminary filing to go public in March. Last year, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV took a majority stake in delivery company Fresh Direct LLC.
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Appeared in the May 14, 2021, print edition as ‘Mexican Group to Buy Grocer Smart & Final.’
