Southeastern Grocers reportedly exploring a sale
Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más, reportedly is exploring a sale, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
In November 2021, Southeastern Grocers officially pulled the plug on plans to go public nine months after it announced it would delay an IPO launched in 2020.
[Read more: Southeastern Grocers launches IPO]
The grocery chain filed a letter at that time with the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting the SEC “consent to the withdrawal ... of its Registration Statement on Form S-1. The company is applying for withdrawal of the Registration Statement because the company has determined not to pursue the contemplated offering at this time.”
[Read more: Southeastern grocers pulls plug on IPO]
The reported news that SEG is exploring a sale, follows on the heels of an announcement last month by Kroger and Albertsons to combine in a $24.6 billion deal.
A Southeastern spokeswoman contacted by DSN said that the company does not comment on market rumors. "With that said, we are always reviewing ways to enhance shareholder value, and to the extent that credible strategic or other shareholder value enhancing transactions emerge, we have an obligation to consider them. While the potential for any such transaction remains ever present in our industry, we will remain focused upon advancing our transformational strategy, supporting our associates and delivering a world-class shopping experience for our customers," she said.
The company operates about 420 Southern grocery stores under three different brands and is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the United States. SEG grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies serve communities throughout the five southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.