CHARLESTON, SC – Greenbax Enterprises Inc., Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company’s privately owned parent company, is asking shareholders for approval to sell its retail and wholesale grocery businesses by the end of the year.
The Post and Courier, which reports that it has received a summary of the deal, says that the company is also looking to dissolve the company within the next three years.
According to that summary, Greenbax will need two-thirds of its shareholders to approve the deal, with votes being due by 5 p.m. on October 15. The company has an employee stock ownership, and as of March of 2014, 82% of the shares were held by employees in a trust.
Christy Boudolf, a company spokeswoman, issued a statement to the Post and Courier in regard to the notice it obtained saying that it “is not intended for the public at this time. It is our position that it should not be published or made public until the pending transaction is completed.”
In the proposal, Greenbax would sell its remaining wholesale operation to C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. for $9.3 million and then sell the 19 remaining grocery stores to independent operators.
The sale to C&S is expected to close by October 20, and Greenbax has entered into verbal agreements with buyers of 17 stores so far, according to the Post and Courier.
This decision comes just over a year after Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company announced that it was selling 7 stores to Harris Teeter and another 22 stores to Bi-Lo.
If this new proposal is accepted, it is unclear whether the stores would continue to operate under the Piggly Wiggly banner. Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest on these potential changes in the Charleston market.
