A global wholesale food distribution giant is acquiring one of Hawaii’s largest businesses in the field, HFM Foodservice, from its Oregon-based parent.
Houston-based Sysco Corp. announced Tuesday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire HFM from Kerr Pacific Corp., based in Portland, Ore.
A purchase price was not disclosed.
Sysco said in a statement that it expects to retain HFM’s executive leadership team and all other employees. HFM and Kerr Pacific representatives were not available for comment Tuesday.
The deal is part of an ongoing growth strategy for
Sysco, a publicly traded company that was founded in 1969. During its most recent fiscal year ended July 1, Sysco had 65,000 employees and $55 billion in sales.
“A key pillar of Sysco’s strategy for continued growth and value creation is the continuous assessment of new market opportunities,” Tom Bene, company president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Acquiring HFM provides Sysco with direct access to the growing Hawaiian market and is in clear alignment with our strategy for disciplined, profitable growth of the business. HFM has been providing quality service to Hawaii and Guam for over 50 years, and we are excited to welcome them to the Sysco family of companies.”
HFM, long known as Hawaiian Flour Mills, was established in 1964 as Hawaii’s first flour mill by what is now Kerr Pacific. Before 1964, local bakeries and other commercial customers obtained bulk flour in shipments from the mainland. In later decades, HFM diversified as a wholesale distributor of food and other supplies to restaurants, resorts, schools and other institutions.
In 2014, HFM closed the only commercial wheat flour mill in Hawaii after failed lease renewal negotiations for a state-owned site near Honolulu Harbor.
HFM, according to Sysco, is the only Hawaii food-service distributor with operations on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island. HFM also serves the Marshall Islands, the Marianas and Guam. Annual HFM sales total about $290 million, Sysco said.
Sysco, which acquired European food-service company The Brakes Group for $3.1 billion last year, claims to be the largest distributor of food and related products globally and estimates that it serves about 16 percent of the U.S. food-service market.
