Chedraui to buy Smart & Final from Apollo for $620 million

Chicago, May 13 – Grupo Comercial Chedraui, SAB de CV has agreed to buy Smart & Final Holdings, Inc. from funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. for around $620 million, according to a press release.

Financing will be issued by Chedraui’s subsidiary Bodega Latina Corp. with support from the parent.

The $620 million purchase price is backed by a fully committed financing arranged by joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners BBVA Bancomer, SA, Institucion de Banca Multiple, Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer, BofA Securities Inc. and Scotiabank Inverlat, SA, Institucion de Banca Multiple, Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat.

The remaining portion of the purchase price will be financing through the assumption of certain debt and the use of cash on hand or existing facilities.

Concurrent with the transaction Bodega Latina will be refinancing its existing debt.

At the close of the acquisition Chedraui’s consolidated pro forma net debt to EBITDA ratio is expected to be 1.1x.

The transaction is expected to close either in the second or third quarter of 2021, pending U.S. and Mexican regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as the exclusive financial adviser and Bufete Robles Miaja, SC and Sidley Austin LLP as the legal advisers to GCC and BLC.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank acted as financial advisers and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as the legal advisor to Smart & Final and Apollo.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Galicia Abogados, SC acted as the legal advisers to the joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the acquisition financing.

Chedraui is a publicly owned company that operates hypermarkets and supermarkets in Mexico and the United States. Headquarters are in Mexico City.

Bodega Latina is based in Paramount, Calif. The company operates 61 El Super stores, three Super Fresh stores and 59 Fiesta Mart stores across California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.

Smart & Final operates small, fast grocery warehouse stores with headquarters in Commerce, Calif.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.