Bruno's Sells off 56 Remaining Stores to Southern Family
Bruno's Supermarkets, LLC said last week that after an auction of its assets, Southern Family Markets Acquisitions II, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., purchased 31 store locations on a "going concern" basis and bought the other 25 stores on a liquidating basis. Liquidator Hilco Merchant Resources was a joint bidder on the sale.The deal must be approved in a court hearing scheduled for today. The deal is worth $45.8 million.
The 56 Bruno’s and Food World stores are in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The news service additionally reported that other bidders included Gordon Brothers Group and a joint venture made up of liquidators Great American Group, Tiger Capital, SB Capital and Hudson Capital Partners.
"I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Southern Family that not only preserves jobs at our store locations, but also delivers more value to our creditors than other potential outcomes would," noted Jim Grady, chief restructuring officer for Birmingham, Ala.-based Bruno's, which in March, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed 10 of its then 66 locations.
Pembroke, N.H.-based C&S served as a distributor to Bruno’s. The Southern Family grocery chain bought 60 Bruno's stores in 2005, along with a distribution facility in Birmingham.
Founded in 1933, Bruno's operated as an independent company since 2007 after undergoing several transitions and changes in ownership beginning in 1995, including consecutive stints as a division of Ahold USA and Lone Star Funds.
The 56 Bruno’s and Food World stores are in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The news service additionally reported that other bidders included Gordon Brothers Group and a joint venture made up of liquidators Great American Group, Tiger Capital, SB Capital and Hudson Capital Partners.
"I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Southern Family that not only preserves jobs at our store locations, but also delivers more value to our creditors than other potential outcomes would," noted Jim Grady, chief restructuring officer for Birmingham, Ala.-based Bruno's, which in March, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed 10 of its then 66 locations.
Pembroke, N.H.-based C&S served as a distributor to Bruno’s. The Southern Family grocery chain bought 60 Bruno's stores in 2005, along with a distribution facility in Birmingham.
Founded in 1933, Bruno's operated as an independent company since 2007 after undergoing several transitions and changes in ownership beginning in 1995, including consecutive stints as a division of Ahold USA and Lone Star Funds.