US-based fresh produce, frozen and dry food distributor HF Foods Group has wrapped up its merger with B&R Global Holdings.
Established in 1999, B&R Global Holdings is a food wholesaler and distributor for Asian restaurants in the US. It currently offers its food products to nearly 6,800 restaurants in 11 western states.
B&R Global agreed to merge into HF Foods as its wholly owned subsidiary in June.
For this deal, HF Foods issued 30.7 million common stock shares to former shareholders of B&R Global Holdings.
HF Foods chairman and co-CEO Zhou Min Ni said: “This combination brings together two complementary market leaders dedicated to serving the vast array of Asian and Chinese restaurants in need of high-quality food ingredients.
“Our greater scale will allow us to better serve our respective customers with a wider range of products, to leverage the combined intellectual capital of our experienced management teams, and to benefit from economies of scale by removing duplicative operating costs, enhancing buying power, and creating a platform for further consolidation.”
HF Foods anticipates that the merger could result in additional growth for the company in the first year of ownership.
The new combined business entity will have 14 distribution centres across nine states in the east and west coasts of the US.
Ni will continue to be part of HF Foods and will serve as chairman of the company, as well as co-CEO of the group along with Peter Zhang, the former chairman and CEO of B&R.
Zhang said: “Over the past 20 years, B&R has been dedicated to servicing the growing demand for Chinese cuisine away from home, and this merger is directly in-line with that mission and our core values.
“We are now able to offer customers a larger product portfolio with more diverse options from which to choose. These improvements will not only benefit our customers but will also create new revenue streams which will benefit our business and our shareholders.
“Ultimately, this merger provides a much larger platform to continue our growth, expand our market share, and provide high-quality products at competitive prices in a more efficient manner.”
