El Super acquiring Fiesta Mart

Paramount, Calif.-based Bodega Latina Corp., known as U.S. Hispanic grocer El Super, is acquiring Fiesta Mart, a Texas-based international food retailer with an emphasis on the Hispanic segment that operates 63 stores primarily in the Dallas and Houston areas.

The combination of Bodega Latina and Fiesta creates one of the largest Hispanic-focused supermarket companies in the U.S., with a total of 122 stores across California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas and revenues of approximately $3 billion, according to a press release.

Over 50 percent of the fast-growing U.S. Hispanic population resides within the five states in which the company operates, Bodega Latina stated in a press release. The acquisition brings together best-in-class practices across both retailers to further enhance the customer shopping experience via improved pricing, quality and customer service, the press release said.

"The acquisition of Fiesta allows us to meaningfully expand into Texas via an established, well-known supermarket operator,”Carlos Smith, president and CEO of Bodega Latina, said in a statement. “Through the combination of the strengths of our two organizations, we will be well positioned to significantly accelerate our vision of efficiently offering high-quality products at the lowest possible prices. We believe this transaction will be beneficial for all of our stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, employees, and vendors. We look forward to welcoming Fiesta's talented employees and working together to create the premier Hispanic grocery retailer."

Combining the strengths of Bodega Latina with those of Fiesta will accelerate the evolution and growth of Fiesta through combining the parties’scale, geographic reach, talented teams and market knowledge, said Sid Keswani, CEO of Fiesta.

The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of the second quarter.