Is C&S Acquiring Winn-Dixie Stores from ALDI?
C&S Wholesale Grocers is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire 170 Winn-Dixie stores and 170 Winn-Dixie liquor stores from discount chain ALDI. C&S, along with members of Winn-Dixie's management team, are poised to complete the deal in the coming days, according to a report from Reuters citing people familiar with the matter.
Sources further told Reuters that ALDI has been working with investment bankers in recent weeks on the divestiture of certain Winn-Dixie locations. ALDI agreed to acquire the Winn-Dixie and Harvey Supermarket banners from Southeastern Grocers in late 2023 as part of a larger divestiture. That deal included approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
As for the remainder of the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets stores acquired by ALDI, sources say they will be rebannered as part of the discount grocer’s fleet over time.
Most recently, C&S was caught up in the breakdown of The Kroger Co.’s proposed merger with Albertsons Cos. The wholesaler was poised to acquire nearly 600 of the two grocers’ stores as part of the $24.6 billion deal, which was stymied by Albertsons’ termination of the merger agreement following injunctions from both the U.S. District Court in Oregon and the King County Superior Court for the State of Washington.
Keene, N.H.-based C&S is the largest grocery wholesale distributor in the United States, and the eighth-largest privately owned company. It services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 100,000 different products. C&S also operates and supports corporate grocery stores and services independent franchisees under a chain-style model throughout the Midwest, South and Northeast. The company is No. 18 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
Batavia, Ill.-based ALDI U.S. serves millions of customers across the country each month with more than 2,300 stores in 38 states. The company is No. 28 on The PG 100. PG also named ALDI its Retailer of the Year for 2023.
