Winn-Dixie Stores sold to Bi-Lo for $560M

Supermarket chain Winn-Dixie is being sold for $560 million to Bi-Lo, the companies announced this morning, creating one of the largest grocery operators in the South. The combined company will have about 690 stores and 63,000 workers in eight states in the South. Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. will become a privately held subsidiary, and its ticker will be removed from the Nasdaq. Each Winn-Dixie stockholder gets $9.50 per share in cash, a 75% premium to the Jacksonville, Fla., company’s Friday closing stock price. Bi-Lo, based in Greenville, S.C., operates 207 supermarkets in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Winn-Dixie runs about 480 stores, including approximately 380 in-store pharmacies, in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana—including about a half dozen in the Baton Rouge area; it employs an estimated 46,000 people. The companies say no store closings are expected, and the name Winn-Dixie will be retained because of its strong brand recognition in the South. The acquisition is not subject to any financing conditions. Winn-Dixie’s board has unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the next two to four months. The management structure and headquarters location have yet to be determined, but the companies anticipate keeping locations in both Greenville and Jacksonville.