On the record · Other
Southeastern Grocers (Winn-Dixie/Bi-Lo)
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.
Also known as BI-LO Holdings
Research depth
Outcomes researched
Reviewed operating findings or a classified operating outcome are available.
Record updated Sept. 4, 2026
Current ownership
Current owner not established
This record does not identify a current owner. That absence is a gap in the record, not a conclusion about ownership.
1 ownership record has an unresolved current/former status.
Ownership and transaction history
Chronology from recorded ownership periods, transactions and reviewed outcome events. Event order does not imply causation.
Date not recorded
What happened under and after ownership
Operating outcome
Operating through distress or restructuring
Filed Chapter 11 in March 2018 and emerged two months later in May 2018, stores operating throughout.
Renamed The Winn-Dixie Company in January 2026; C&S Wholesale Grocers, already a co-owner, agreed to become majority owner in a deal expected to close in early 2027.
- Peak headcount
- 63,000
- Sponsor at closure
- Lone Star Funds
- Cause
- Dividend recapitalization · with debt left at exit
- CNBC · 2018 · Chapter 11 filing and rapid emergence
- Jacksonville Daily Record · 2025 · Aldi acquisition and subsequent sale to investor group in February 2025
- C&S Wholesale Grocers (company primary) · 2026 · January 2026 rename to The Winn-Dixie Co.; C&S Wholesale Grocers agreement to become majority owner, expected close early 2027
- Wikipedia · Southeastern Grocers formed by Lone Star Funds in 2013 as parent of BI-LO, Winn-Dixie and other banners; 2012 BI-LO/Winn-Dixie combination created a chain of ab
- Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) · Lone Star Funds took roughly $839 million in dividends from Southeastern Grocers/BI-LO between 2011 and 2013 through debt-funded dividend recapitalizations, inc
What we do not know
These are gaps in the public record, not findings about the organization.
- No current public ownership assessment has been published.
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