Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Houchens Industries planned purchase of Food Giant, which owns Piggly Wiggly supermarkets, wont impact communities where the two are in competition. Nothing would change from their operational standpoint, said Jimmie Gipson, chairman of the board of Bowling Green-based Houchens. They would still have their headquarters and continue to run the stores. None of that would change, Gipson said, referring to the mix of products that Piggly Wiggly sells. Russellville and Franklin have both Houchens and Piggly Wiggly stores, and both would continue to operate there, he said. This would strictly be an acquisition of a subsidiary like Stewart-Richey (construction company) and those types of things that we already own, Gipson said. Houchens owns Commonwealth Brands, an insurance company, Southern Recycling and several other non-grocery subsidiaries, giving it 8,000 employees with sales of $1.5 billion annually. The company is employee-owned. Food Giant, also employee-owned, has 2,500 employees with annual sales of $400 million. Houchens is listed by Forbes Magazine as the 106th largest privately owned company in the United States. Both companies board of directors have approved a letter of intent for the purchase through a stock exchange. The sale, subject to appraisal, is expected to be final in July. It seems to be a fairly simple transaction and we hope it continues to be simple, Gipson said. Food Giant President Ron Watkins said his company will now be in a position to grow. The company is based in Sikeston, Mo.Gipson said the non-grocery acquisitions have worked well for Houchens. We have been blessed, he said. They all have continued to operate very well. Gipson said the company is working on another small non-grocery acquisition, but other than the Food Giant deal, nothing else of significance is on the horizon. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700