Bi-Lo Buys Big on Winn-Dixie

The week before Christmas started with the news that supermarket chain Winn-Dixie WINN is being sold to Bi-Lo for $560 million. If you would like to be alerted to Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie updates as they come out in real-time, signup for a free trial of Benzinga Pro's premium news service. According to the Associated Press, the combined company with now have approximately 690 stores and 63,000 employees in eight states. Winn-Dixie, like Bi-Lo, will become a privately owned subsidiary and will be removed from the Nasdaq. The article states that, “Each Winn-Dixie stockholder gets $9.50 per share in cash, a 75 percent premium to the Jacksonville, Fla. company's Friday closing stock price.” The New York Times said that the deal unites two of the South's better-known regional supermarket operators. “The combined company will have a perfect geographic fit that will create a stronger platform from which to provide our customers great products at a great value, while continuing to offer exceptional service,” Randall Onstead, Bi-Lo's chairman, said in a statement. Both companies said on Monday that no store closings are anticipated, and that Bi-Lo will retain the name Winn-Dixie because of it's strong branding in the South. That makes sense, though it is not always a formality; many a time, a company will buy out another company and kill the name, effectively wiping out an established brand. Bi-Lo is being smart. The New York Times concurs. “Both the Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie brands are expected to live on after the merger, and neither company expects to close any stores. The location of the combined company's headquarters hasn't been decided yet, though it is expected to maintain corporate presences in both Greenville, S.C., Bi-Lo's home, and Jacksonville, Fla., Winn-Dixie's base. "With no overlap in our markets, the combined company will have a perfect geographic fit that will create a stronger platform from which to provide our customers great products at a great value, while continuing to offer exceptional service," said Onstead. For certain, the merger represents what is now a formidable organization with two recognized brands. Traders should be having a long, hard look.