Sysco Corp, the biggest U.S. food distributor, is in advanced talks to sell some assets to a food company owned by Blackstone Group in order to win regulatory approval for its acquisition of US Foods Inc , the New York Post reported, citing sources. Once Sysco strikes a deal to divest some assets, the Federal Trade Commission is expected to clear the acquisition, which has been awaiting regulatory approval for nearly a year, the report said. (bit.ly/1F7tDRD)Besides Blackstone-owned Performance Food, Sysco had been negotiating with two other regional players, Reinhart Foodservice and Gordon Food Service, to purchase assets.Sysco said in December 2013 that it would buy US Foods for about $3.5 billion from its private equity owners, including KKR & Co, merging the two biggest U.S. food distributors.The company has since been trying to win antitrust approval and said earlier this month that it did not expect the deal to close this year.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone) is a manager of private capital and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX traded higher by 0.18% or $0.06/share to $32.67. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.16 and as high as $36.08. On average, 4849440 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3572048.
Sysco Corporation (Sysco), along with its subsidiaries and divisions, is a North American distributor of food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry. Shares of SYY traded higher by 0.03% or $0.01/share to $39.15. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $33.30 and as high as $43.40. On average, 3066580 shares of SYY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1656008.
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