001237 Sysco Buys Private Meat Distributor

Houston, TX - Foodservice giant Sysco Corp. said it has purchased privately- held Albert M. Briggs Co., a specialty meat supplier, for undisclosed terms.

Washington, DC-based Albert M. Briggs, generated about $46 million in sales for the fiscal year ended Nov 1, Houston-based Sysco said.

Albert M. Briggs' President Charles Harris Jr. and Executive Vice President Hendrikus Wisker will remain in their current posts, Sysco said.

“This acquisition, as well as SYSCO's recently announced plans to purchase five specialty meat operations from the Texas-based Freedman Companies, will complement the current coverage provided by SYSCO's specialty meat operations in California, Georgia, and Ohio,” Sysco President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Schnieders said in a statement.

Sysco announced its plans to buy specialty meat operations from Freedman on Nov 8. No terms were disclosed.

Schnieders said the Albert M. Briggs deal will also allow Sysco to supply custom-cut meat products in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Albert M. Briggs serves about 900 customers, including restaurants, hotels, country clubs and executive dining rooms in the those three areas, Sysco said.

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