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Winn-Dixie, Fresco Owner Southeastern Files for U.S. IPO

Winn-Dixie, Fresco Owner Southeastern Files for U.S. IPO

Southeastern Grocers Inc., the owner of the Winn-Dixie and Fresco supermarket chains that emerged from bankruptcy two years ago, has filed for an initial public offering.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based grocer in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission listed an offer size of $100 million, a placeholder that will likely change. Existing investors will be selling some of their shares, according to the prospectus.

Southeastern Grocers’ listing would follow that by supermarket owner Albertsons Cos., which raised $800 million in a downsized IPO in June. The value of Albertsons, backed by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, has fallen 10% since then.

Southeastern Grocers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 and completed its financial restructuring that year.

The company has streamlined further this year. It agreed to sell more than 120 BI-LO and Harveys stores to buyers including Food Lion LLC, as well as pharmacy prescription files for 58 of its in-store pharmacies to CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Winn-Dixie stores will account for about 87% of its remaining portfolio, according to its filing.

Sales have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic began, according to filing. The company had net income of $206 million on revenue of $5.3 billion for the 28 weeks ended July 8, compared with a $62 million loss on revenue of $4.5 billion during the same period a year ago.

The share sale is being led by Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Southeastern Grocers plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SEGR.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.