Grocery & Specialty Food
Grocery chains, gourmet food retailers, and specialty food stores
PE-Owned Brands
A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea)
Owned by Yucaipa Companies
Ron Burkle's Yucaipa acquired A&P, loaded debt, and failed to modernize one of America's oldest grocery chains. After two bankruptcies (2010, 2015), all remaining stores liquidated. ~28,000 jobs lost.
4 locations tracked
Fairway Market
Owned by Sterling Investment Partners
Sterling pushed reckless expansion of this beloved NYC grocer. Never reported a profitable quarter post-IPO. Filed bankruptcy twice.
4 locations tracked
Grocery Outlet
Owned by Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman acquired Grocery Outlet, a discount grocery chain, in 2014. Took it public in 2019 (NASDAQ: GO). Grocery Outlet operates through independent operators (IOs) — a franchisee model that shifts business risk to individual store operators while limiting their upside.
0 locations tracked
Marsh Supermarkets
Owned by Sun Capital Partners
Sun Capital acquired Marsh in 2006, loaded it with debt, failed to invest in stores. The chain deteriorated and all stores closed or were sold off by 2017. Another Sun Capital retail casualty.
5 locations tracked
Southeastern Grocers (Winn-Dixie/Bi-Lo)
Owned by Lone Star Funds
Lone Star Funds acquired the grocery chains via LBO, loaded debt, and failed to invest in stores. Filed Chapter 11 in 2018 with $1B+ in debt. Emerged diminished, eventually sold.
3 locations tracked
The Fresh Market
Owned by The Carlyle Group
Carlyle Group took The Fresh Market private for $1.36B in 2016. The upscale grocer struggled with debt and competition from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Carlyle sold it in 2020 to a consortium led by Apollo after years of store closures and leadership turnover.
0 locations tracked
Tops Markets
Owned by Morgan Stanley Private Equity
Morgan Stanley PE acquired Tops in 2007 via LBO, then extracted a $375M dividend recap in 2013 while loading the grocer with $800M in debt. Filed bankruptcy in 2018.
3 locations tracked