The owner of US retail chains Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie plans to list the business as Southeastern Grocers.
Investment vehicle Lone Star Funds is looking to raise as much as US$500m, according to a prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That estimate has been used to calculate fees and could change.
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The number of shares to be offered or the price range for the IPO have yet to be determined.
Lone Star owns 100% of the business but it is unclear how big its stake will be after the IPO. However, according to the prospectus, the retailer expects to be a “controlled company” – indicating Lone Star expects to remain a major shareholder.
According to the prospectus, Southeastern Grocers had 685 stores in eight states on 10 July. It said it is the “sixth-largest conventional supermarket operator in the United States based on number of stores” and number two in those eight southern sttaes.
The company’s recently-announced acquisitions of 165 stores from Delhaize and 22 outlets from Piggly Wiggly have yet to be closed but the retailer said the deals would “significantly expand the number of operating stores in our footprint”.
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By GlobalDataThe move comes 18 months after Bi-Lo acquired Winn-Dixie, expanding the retailer’s presence in the south-east of the US.
Bi-Lo has had a tumultuous period; in 2009, it applied for Chapter 11 after the credit crunch meant it was unable to refinance its debt. It emerged from Chapter 11 a year later after selling assets to Delhaize and securing financing from a number of parties, including Lone Star.
