Spartan Stores and Nash Finch Co. to merge

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Spartan Stores and Nash Finch Company on Monday announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Spartan Stores and Nash Finch will combine in an all-stock merger valued at approximately $1.3 billion, including existing net debt at each company.



Nash Finch, which had revenues of about $4.8 billion last year, will become a subsidiary of Spartan Stores, which had revenues of $2.6 billion.



“This transformational transaction provides a unique opportunity to bring together Spartan Stores’ grocery distribution and retail operations in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio with Nash Finch’s leading position in grocery distribution to military commissaries and exchanges and its complementary wholesale grocery network throughout the U.S.," stated Dennis Eidson, Spartan Stores president and CEO. "By combining our resources, expertise and talent, we will become a stronger and more efficient organization with an enhanced ability to leverage our size, geographic reach and hybrid business model to better compete in the evolving grocery industry.”



Together, Spartan Stores and Nash Finch will have 22 distribution centers covering 37 states, 177 retail stores and will be a leading distributor to military commissaries and exchanges in the United States.



Eidson will serve as president and CEO of the combined company, while Alec Covington, presently president and CEO of Nash Finch, will remain with the combined organization in an advisory role to help ensure a smooth transition.



The combined company, which will retain a presence in both Minneapolis and Grand Rapids, Mich., will include members of each company’s management teams and employee bases.