GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The supermarket chain Winn- Dixie is being sold in a deal valued at $560 million to Bi-Lo LLC, the companies said Monday, creating a huge grocery operator in the South.
Shares of Winn-Dixie, which has more than twice the number of stores of its buyer, jumped more than 70 percent Monday. The company had struggled in the past, entering into bankruptcy protection in 2005, but has been revamping operations in recent years.
The combined company will have about 690 stores and 63,000 workers in eight states in the southern U. S. Winn- Dixie Stores Inc. will become a privately held subsidiary and its ticker will be removed from the Nasdaq. Bi-Lo is a private company.
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. At that price, the deal would be valued at more than $530 million.
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