Houston - SYSCO Corporation and Jordan's Meats, Inc. announced today an agreement to merge Jordan's Foodservice Distribution Division with SYSCO, the leading foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America. Jordan's Foodservice Division, headquartered in Westbrook (Portland), Maine, generates in excess of $130 million in annual revenues and is considered the largest independent broadline foodservice distributor in New England. Terms of the merger, which should be concluded in late May, were not disclosed.
Jordan's Foodservice Division offers a wide variety of "center-of-the- plate" entree items such as meats, seafood, poultry, dry groceries, frozen foods, fresh produce and fresh-cut vegetables, as well as refrigerated dairy products, paper goods, cleaning supplies and restaurant equipment and supplies to foodservice operators in several key New England markets. Jordan's facilities are strategically located near Portland, Maine and Burlington, Vermont, providing easy access to its more than 2,500 customers located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northern Massachusetts. The company inventories a broad line of approximately 10,000 branded and private label products and offers value-added services such as menu planning, inventory management and cost control to support its customers' foodservice operations.
Jordan's Foodservice Division will become a subsidiary of SYSCO known as Sysco Food Services of Maine, Inc. The current management team, and the division's nearly 300 employees, will remain in place under the direction of Richard A. Giles, who is now president and chief operating officer of Jordan's Foodservice Division.
SYSCO currently operates a foodservice distribution center in Newport (Bangor), Maine and will consolidate its Maine operations in Jordan's Portland facility while maintaining a satellite sales office in the Bangor area. Continuing employment opportunities will be offered to all current employees. To accommodate growth, it is anticipated that, following the merger, Jordan's 100,000-plus square-foot Portland complex will be expanded to more than twice its existing capacity.
Commenting on the merger, Bill M. Lindig, president and chief executive officer of SYSCO, said, "As the largest independent foodservice distributor in northern New England, Jordan's has an excellent reputation for providing high quality products and services. Jordan's core philosophies are strongly aligned with those of our company, since more than 90 percent of their business is directed toward the marketing associate-served portion of the customer base, which is also a key component of SYSCO's marketing strategy. The combination of Jordan's professional workforce with our very talented Bangor employee base will create the premier foodservice distribution organization in the area. This merger will enable us not only to improve customer service levels to our valued customers, but also to strengthen our position in the vital New England marketplace."
James F. Van Stone, president and chief executive officer of Jordan's Meats, the parent of the Division, commented on "how pleased the owners are with the opportunities a merger with such a powerhouse will create for the wonderful employees of the Division."
Richard A. Giles noted that Jordan's would benefit from SYSCO's substantial resources. "The synergies we can offer each other by working as a team should allow us to forge a strong partnership and achieve our mutual growth objectives."
Michael Gilligan, general partner of Heritage Partners, a private equity firm located in Boston, Massachusetts, and principal shareholder of Jordan's Meats, added, "It was very important to us that we find a strategic partner for the management and employees of Jordan's Foods who would support the growth of the enterprise in northern New England. SYSCO fits the bill in every dimension."
SYSCO, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America. Generating annual sales approximating $15 billion, the company provides its products and services to about 270,000 customers. The SYSCO distribution network currently extends throughout the entire continental United States, as well as parts of Alaska and Canada.
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