990709 SYSCO Plans Merger With Newport Meat Co.

Houston - SYSCO Corporation announced it has signed an agreement and plan of merger with Newport Meat Company of Irvine, California. Newport, a privately held company with annual sales of approximately $100 million, is considered the largest independent purveyor of fine meats, poultry and seafood to the southern California foodservice market. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of July, were not disclosed.

Newport Meat Company, founded in 1975, supplies a customer base of about 1,000 “white tablecloth” restaurants, luxury hotels and resorts, private clubs and gourmet food stores. Street business, or marketing-associate-served accounts, represents approximately 75% of total sales. The company offers more than 1,000 products, including cuts of fresh aged beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, turkey, game meats and frozen seafood items from its 50,000 square- foot warehouse strategically located in southern California.

Newport is a licensed distributor of Certified Angus Beef(TM) (CAB) product and was one of the leaders in the establishment of the CAB program. For the last 13 years Newport has held a leading position in the CAB program, and last year was the second-highest volume foodservice distributor nationwide for the breed- specific CAB program.

“As the preeminent supplier of center-of-the plate products in its markets, Newport Meat Company will gain SYSCO an instantaneous leadership position in the vast southern California marketplace,” said Bill M. Lindig, chairman and chief executive officer of SYSCO. “Newport has an outstanding management team and employee base. In addition, their superb product reputation, custom-cutting expertise and unparalleled customer service will allow us to successfully source and differentiate SYSCO's quality meat offerings throughout our California operations.”

Newport Meat Company will become a subsidiary of SYSCO known as Sysco Newport Meat Company, Inc. SYSCO plans to retain Newport's workforce of approximately 100 employees. Key employees who comprise the current senior management team include Richard A. Nicholas, chairman and chief executive officer; Timothy K. Hussman, president and chief operating officer; Denise Van Voorhis, senior vice president and chief financial officer; and Ray Nicholas, senior vice president-operations. In the aggregate, these individuals have accumulated 84 years experience in the industry.

“We are enthusiastic about becoming a member of the SYSCO family,” said Richard A. Nicholas. “The synergies we bring to the marketplace as one company will allow us to offer exceptional quality center-of-the-plate products to an expanded customer roster and provide the catalyst for continuing future growth opportunities.”

SYSCO, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America. Generating annualized sales in excess of $17 billion, SYSCO provides its products and services to about 300,000 customers. The SYSCO distribution network currently extends throughout the entire contiguous United States as well as portions of Alaska and Canada.

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