Sysco to buy London-based Brakes Group for $3.1bn

US foodservice distributor Sysco Corp has agreed to buy London-based peer Brakes Group from Bain Capital Private Equity for around $3.1bn (£2.2bn).

Sysco said the deal, which includes the repayment of approximately $2.3bn of Brakes’ financial debt, expands its footprint in the UK and Ireland and further into Europe.

Brakes, which has operations in the UK, Ireland, France, Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, will operate as a standalone company within Sysco and will continue to be led by chief executive officer Ken McMeikan with the same employee base in place.

Sysco’s chief executive officer Bill DeLaney said: “This transaction will unite Sysco with a leading foodservice distributor in Europe with demonstrated capability to sustainably grow its business over time.

“Beginning with a common customer-centric mindset, our companies are strategically aligned with compatible cultures and similar business models. We expect to retain key members of Brakes Group’s talented leadership team and to experience little distraction from integration given the minimal overlap of the businesses.”

In fiscal 2015, Brakes Group’s revenues amounted to nearly $5bn, which was up 6.5% from the previous year.

News of the acquisition came as the pound suffered its largest one-day drop since 2009 after London mayor Boris Johnson said he would campaign for the UK to abandon the European Union.

As of 14:39GMT sterling was trading 1.79% lower to 1.4102 versus the US dollar.