<p>Ninth-largest grocery distributor in the United States, Spartan Stores, is set to merge with Nash Finch Co. in a deal that creates a combined entity with $7.5 billion in annual sales and access to U.S. military stores at home and abroad.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“Together, we will create one of the premier grocery wholesaler and retail operators, with a comprehensive portfolio of high quality private brands, nationwide distribution services and a strong platform for future growth,” said Dennis Eidson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Stores.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The all-stock deal is valued at $1.3 billion. The two companies combined will have 22 distribution centers covering 37 states, 177 retail stores and will be the leading distributor to military commissaries and exchanges in the United States.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Nash Finch shareholders will receive a fixed ratio of 1.20 shares of Spartan Stores common stock for each share of Nash Finch common stock they own.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Closing is expected by the end of calendar 2013, at which point Spartan Stores shareholders will own approximately 57.7% of the equity of the combined company and Nash Finch shareholders will own approximately 42.3%.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“By combining our resources, expertise and talent we will become a stronger and more efficient organization with an enhanced ability to leverage our size, geographic reach and hybrid business model to better compete in the evolving grocery industry,” concluded Eidson.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.nashfinch.com/index.html" target="_new">Nash Finch</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
