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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — United Natural Foods Inc. announced today it has completed its $2.9 billion acquisition of Supervalu Inc.
“Today is an important milestone for UNFI,” Steve Spinner, chairman and chief executive officer of UNFI, said in a statement. “We will take the best from both businesses to create North America’s premier food wholesaler with significant scale, reach and choices for our customers. We are pleased to welcome our new colleagues from Supervalu as well as their customers and suppliers to UNFI. Our companies share customer-centric cultures and dedicated associates who are committed to continuous improvement, which will help drive our integration programs.”
Spinner will lead the combined entity. Reporting to him are:
- Chris Testa, President of UNFI
- Danielle Benedict, Chief Human Resources Officer
- Eric Dorne, Chief Administrative Officer & Chief Information Officer
- Paul Green, Chief Supply Chain Officer
- Jill Sutton, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
- Mike Zechmeister, Chief Financial Officer
Sean Griffin, previously UNFI’s chief operating officer, will serve as chief executive officer of Supervalu. He will also head of the integration committee, which includes executives from both companies and will be responsible for driving the implementation of best practices from each company, delivering synergies from the merger and ensuring a speedy and smooth integration. Supporting Supervalu’s business operations and reporting directly to Sean Griffin will be Anne Dament, executive vice president for retail, marketing and private brands, and Mike Stigers, executive vice president for wholesale.
“We are excited to continue to further build out the store to a more diverse customer base across the country, with both broad better-for-you natural, organic brands and fresh perimeter offerings, as we capitalize on opportunities to cross-sell and realize the benefits of the greater scale we now have as a combined company,” Griffin said. “Work has already begun for the Company to realize the significant projected run-rate cost synergies associated with this transaction – more than $175 million by year three and more than $185 million by year four – and we are committed to improving profitability into the future. We believe that we can achieve these targets and leverage scalable systems to streamline our processes, more efficiently meet the needs of our customers and reduce future capital expenditures.”
Griffin said the company will provide an update on its integration efforts at a January 16 investor day meeting.
