The purchase is expected to close by the middle of this month.
Shawn Finnerty, owner of Vend Source of Arizona, will join Vistar as president of what will be called Vistar/Vend Source of Arizona.
"Over the next few months, we will transition business from three Vistar companies into the current Vend Source facility. The Arizona vending, coffee service, theater, and related business customers currently serviced from Vistar of Ontario, CA, will be integrated into the Vend Source company," Holm said in a press release. "The Arizona theater customers currently serviced from Roma of Arizona will also be integrated into the Vend Source company, consistent with our strategy of operating separate distribution centers for our Vistar Specialty Markets business and our Roma Foodservice distribution business."
Vistar will continue to operate the Vend Source cash and carry as well as our MerchantSmart Phoenix cash and carry, both under Finnerty's direction.
Holm said the addition of Vend Source comes at a time when Vistar is experiencing its "strongest organic sales growth" in its specialty markets business in more than 12 years.
"Adding Vend Source allows Vistar an opportunity to offer our exclusive brands, which have grown 65% since March, to an expanded customer base. Suppliers with whom we've partnered include Mars, Kraft, Specialty Brands, Procter and Gamble, Starbucks, General Mills, Red Bull, Entenmann's, Wells Blue Bunny, Hooters, Tony Roma, Nascar, and Auntie Anne's," Holm said.
Vistar acquired in March of this year select assets of Vend Source of Colorado and, according to George Holm, president and ceo of Vistar, has integrated them into its Denver operation.
With more than $3 billion in annual sales, Vistar has spent the last few years buying foodservice and vending distribution companies across the country. The company is building two separate networks of distribution centers to serve the two sides of its business: food service and distributing snacks to vending machine operators.
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