C&S Wholesale Grocers to Acquire SpartanNash
C&S Wholesale Grocers has reached an agreement to acquire SpartanNash in a deal valued at $1.77 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The transaction is expected to close in late 2025, subject to certain customary closing conditions, including SpartanNash shareholder and applicable regulatory approvals. C&S has obtained financing commitment letters for the transaction.
"This is an exciting opportunity for our team members, partners and, notably, our customers,” said Eric Winn, CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers. “The combination of our two companies' capabilities puts our collective customers' stores and our own retail stores at the center of the plate, supporting their ability to thrive in a highly dynamic and competitive environment.”
Tony Sarsam, president and CEO of SpartanNash, added, “For our customers, this transaction creates the necessary scale, efficiency and purchasing power needed to enable independent retailers to compete more effectively with larger big-box chains. Neighborhood grocers are essential pillars of our communities that we want to preserve and strengthen. A thriving hometown grocery store supports local farmers, bolsters the local economy and enhances the overall health and well-being of the community.”
The two companies outlined several benefits of combining C&S and SpartanNash:
- Complementary food distribution networks to better support independent retailers: Together, the combined company will operate almost 60 complementary distribution centers covering the U.S. and will serve close to 10,000 independent retail locations, with collectively more than 200 corporate-run grocery stores.
- Greater efficiency and scale expected to result in lower prices for grocery shoppers: Operating at a larger scale, supported by the combined innovative capabilities of the two companies, enables a more efficient supply chain as well as an ability to secure the best possible delivered cost of goods and promotional discounts. These are expected to translate to better pricing for community retailers and at the shelf for consumers. The stability of the combined organization will allow the combined company and its customers to better compete against various extremely large global grocers in the U.S. food-at-home space.
- Preserves accessible, affordable nutrition and pharmacy services in local communities: Nearly half of all U.S. counties have at least one pharmacy desert, a 10-mile radius with no retail pharmacy, and an estimated 5.6% of the American population lives in a food desert. Providing families with access to fresh food, essential prescription medications and health services is at the core of the combined company's operations, distributing to community retailers and operating corporate grocery stores and pharmacies.
C&S Wholesale Grocers was founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores and now supplies more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases, and institutions with more than 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.
SpartanNash operates two complementary business segments: food wholesale and grocery retail. Its global supply chain network serves wholesale customers that include independent and chain grocers, national retail brands, e-commerce platforms, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges. The company distributes products for every aisle in the grocery store, from fresh produce to household goods to its OwnBrands, which include the Our Family portfolio of products. On the retail side, SpartanNash operates nearly 200 brick-and-mortar grocery stores, primarily under the banners of Family Fare, Martin's Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market, in addition to dozens of pharmacies and fuel centers with convenience stores.
