Food distribution company Cheney Brothers Inc., which operates a 427,000-square-foot distribution complex in Punta Gorda and other distribution centers and enterprises in the Southeast, agreed to sell its holdings to Richmond, Virginia-based Performance Food Group Co. for $2.1 billion, company officials said.
Cheney Brothers generates approximately $3.2 billion in annual revenue, providing food and food service to a diverse range of customers, including independent restaurants, restaurant chains, hotels, country clubs, institutional groups and other food service operators.
PFG had net sales of $57.3 billion for fiscal year 2023, up 12.5% from the prior year. It is one of the largest food-related distribution companies in North America with more than 150 locations, delivering products to more than 300,000 including independent and chain restaurants, businesses, schools and health care facilities, vending and office coffee service distributors, big box retailers, theaters and convenience stores.
The transaction is expected to generate about $50 million of net annual run-rate cost synergies by the third full fiscal year after the close.
A Fortune 100 company, PFG has a workforce of 37,000.
“On behalf of the 3,600 Cheney Brothers associates, allow me to express our excitement at the prospect of being part of PFG’s organization,” said Byron Russell, CEO of the family-owned Cheney Brothers, which is headquartered in Riviera Beach.
“Cheney Brothers will be an outstanding addition to our food service segment, and we are excited to welcome their many talented associates to the PFG family of companies,” PFG Chairman and CEO George Holm said upon announcing the transaction.
PFG officials said Cheney Brothers has a high mix of sales to independent restaurants but a low mix of private brand penetration to independent restaurants and “PFG has a meaningful opportunity to expand the sale of private brands to Cheney Brothers’ independent restaurant customers by leveraging PFG’s broad portfolio of private brands.”
“This acquisition will expand and enhance our offerings to a high-quality and diverse customer base. We have long admired the success of Cheney Brothers in the southeastern U.S. and believe that the combination of our organizations will push the business to new heights,” Holm said.
Cheney Brothers broke ground on its 345,000-square-foot Punta Gorda distribution center in 2014 and later added an 82,000-square-foot expansion. The company initially brought 300 jobs to Charlotte County, and more businesses followed Cheney Brothers’ lead.
Cheney Brothers officials previously said the company chose Punta Gorda for its distribution site because it is two to three hours away from the Miami, Tampa and Orlando markets.
During a presentation before the Charlotte County Airport Authority in May, former county Department of Economic Development Director Dave Gammon provided an overview of new businesses, buildings and construction underway in the area and said, “Cheney Brothers put us on the map.”
Development surrounding Punta Gorda Airport continues to grow with 2.5 million square feet already developed and 1.5 million square feet planned.
Now, the industrial areas surrounding the airport have come to be known as a distribution hub.
Both Cheney Brothers and PFG expressed admiration for each other’s operations.
“I have watched PFG grow into one of the country’s largest food service distributors by fostering new business relationships and maintaining a strong company culture. I believe this transaction will bring together two winning organizations and create a significant platform for growth. Together, the companies will build upon each other’s strengths and achieve outstanding success in the years ahead,” said Russell, whose grandfather Joe Cheney founded the company in 1925 in West Palm Beach.
Cheney Brothers has a long history in Florida. It became incorporated in 1962, and in 1976, Russell joined the firm as a buyer and warehouse manager.
In 1977, sales hit the $3 million mark, and in 1981, Russell became CEO.
In 1986, the company moved into a 75,000-square-foot distribution center in West Palm Beach.
Exports to the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America began in 1995. Having outgrown its facility in West Palm Beach, the company moved into its state-of-the art distribution center in Rivera Beach in 1997.
More growth was to come. In 2006, the company built a 525,000-square-foot distribution center in Ocala.
After the Punta Gorda distribution center was opened in 2015, more growth and distribution centers were acquired and built in North Carolina and South Carolina.
A Simply Nuts affiliate of Cheney Brothers also was constructed in Punta Gorda. As late as last year, more Cheney Brothers growth continued in Port St. Lucie and Florence, South Carolina.
In 2023 Regan Russell joined the company as the family’s fourth generation member.
PFG officials said the acquisition will expand its presence in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
