<p> United Natural Foods (UNFI) is acquiring perishable food distributor Tony’s Fine Foods for approximately $195 million – <B>the largest company it has ever acquired</b>. The deal is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> United Natural Foods carries and distributes <B>more than 65,000 products to more than 31,000 customers</b> throughout the United States and Canada. Mark Shamber, UNFI Chief Financial Officer, tells The Providence Journal that the company sees considerable growth moving forward. Until now, UNFI’s dry grocery, frozen foods, perishable foods, nutritional supplements, and personal care items have been primarily “center-of-the-store” goods, but <B>the Tony’s acquisition will allow the company to expand into the “perimeter” foods</b>, such as cheese, specialty protein, deli, food service, and bakery, according to The Providence Journal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “With consumers’ migration towards natural proteins and healthier eating, the Tony’s acquisition is very, very strategic for UNFI,” said UNFI President and CEO Steven Spinner. “It’s just a <B>tremendous strategic advantage</b> for us to be able to have these product categories in a lot of terrific markets that have incredible demand for them.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Karl Berger, Tony’s Fine Foods Co-President and third generation operator said, “We are thrilled to become part of UNFI, one of the leading natural, organic, and specialty distributors in the U.S. and Canada, while maintaining our west coast distribution and logistics network. We believe together, Tony’s and UNFI will deepen our relationships with existing customers and <B>broaden our reach to new customers across all of our markets.</b>”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The transaction is still subject to customary closing conditions, including compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> How will these two food distributors compare against US Foods and Sysco? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we keep an eye on these growing companies.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="https://www.unfi.com/Pages/default.aspx" target="_new"> United Natural Foods </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.tonysfinefoods.com" target="_new"> Tony’s Fine Foods </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
