Sprouts, Henrys Combine Natural Retail Ops

PHOENIXSprouts Farmers Market and Henry's Farmers Market are combining operations under the majority ownership and sponsorship of Apollo Management LP. The two natural food retailers were originally founded by the Boney Family and have operated under separate owners for almost a decade. 

The combined company will operate under the Sprouts Farmers Market name and will be one of the largest grocers in the Western United States with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion.  The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter 2011.

The combined company will be managed from an operating perspective by the Boney family and will eventually operate all stores under the single name Sprouts Farmers Market.  The new company will have 98 stores and more than 7,000 employees at the time the transaction is closed.  The combined company plans to open up to 10 additional new stores during 2011.

Andrew S. Jhawar, a senior partner at Apollo and co-head of Apollo's Consumer and Retail Industry Group said, "We are very excited about partnering with Stan Boney, Shon Boney, Doug Sanders and the thousands of employees at Sprouts and Henry's to help reunite these two great companies under the Boney family's leadership.  After the combination, Sprouts will be one of the largest, growth-oriented specialty retailers in the United States with a focus on natural and organic products.  Apollo looks forward to supporting the management team's vision for significant future new store growth across the country."    

Stan Boney, chairman of the board at Sprouts said, "The combination of Sprouts and Henry's is an exciting chapter in our family's lives, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our mission of helping America eat healthier, live longer and spend less. Apollo is one of the most experienced and successful private equity firms in the nation and we are excited about their support for our business model and look forward to working together with Andy and his team."

The combination of the Sprouts and Henrys businesses will occur through an equity investment and recapitalization of the existing Sprouts business by Apollo.  A concurrent purchase of the Henrys business will be made from Commerce, CA-based Smart & Final Holdings Corp., an Apollo portfolio company since 2007.  Sagent Advisors acted as financial advisors to Sprouts.  Following the transaction, Apollo will be the majority owner of Sprouts and will continue to be the principal equity owner of Smart & Final Holdings.

 Neither Sprouts nor Henry's discloses financial information. Terms of the transaction werent disclosed.