Empire Company Explained
Empire Company Limited is a Canadian conglomerate engaged mostly in food retail and corporate investments. Founded in 1963, the company is headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia and owns the Sobeys supermarket chain.[3] In total, the company owns, affiliates or franchises more than 1,500 stores; in addition to Sobeys, brands include Safeway, IGA, Foodland, Farm Boy, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods and Lawtons Drug.[4]
Acquisitions
Empire Company has a long history of acquisitions:
- 1976 Lawton's Drug Stores Limited, which operated 18 stores in Nova Scotia.
- November 1980 – July 1981 Empire acquires Sobey Holdings Limited, gaining a 50.97% stake in the company.
- February 1983 Empire ups its ownership of Hannaford Bros. Co., an American food retailer, to 25% (Sold in 2000)
- June 1987 Empire buys the remaining 49.03% of Sobeys, making it an entirely owned subsidiary. (Sold in 1998, re-bought in 2007)
- 1987 Empire buys out its partner in Empire Theatres, turning it into an entirely owned subsidiary.
- May 1988 Empire buys a 25% stake in Provigo.
- 1988 Empire acquires an additional 22% stake in Wajax, resulting in a total ownership of 45%.
- June 1989 Empire re-purchases the outstanding share of Atlantic Shopping Centres, making it an entirely owned subsidiary.
- December 1993 Empire Real Estate buys 64% of Halifax Developments, Ltd; making it an entirely owned subsidiary.
- December 1998 Empire buys Oshawa Group for $1.5 billion.
- January 2001 Empire Real Estate buys a 35.7% stake in Genstar Developmental Partnership for $29 million.
- February 2004 Sobey's acquires Commisso's Food Markets, and Empire Real Estate acquires Commisso's real estate for a total of $103.5 million.
- September 2005 Empire Theatres acquires 27 more theatres.
- August 2006 Sobey's acquires Achille de la Chevrotière Ltée, including its grocery chain of about 25 stores in Quebec and Ontario. This costs $79.2 million.
- July 15, 2007 Empire re-buys the remaining outstanding Sobey's share, making it once again an entirely owned subsidiary.
- September 2007 Sobeys buys Thrifty Foods for $256.6 million.
- 2011 Sobeys purchases 236 retail gas locations for $214.9 million in Québec and Atlantic Canada.[5]
- June 2013 Empire buys all of Safeway Canada's stores for $5.8 billion
- September 2018 Empire announces intent to buy Farm Boy stores in an $800 million deal.[6]
- March 2021 Empire announces it will buy 51% stake in Longo's and its Grocery Gateway e-commerce business for $357 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of Empire's 2022 financial year.[7]
Sales of Subsidiaries/Interests
- 1998 Empire sells 38% of Sobeys, putting it out on the public stock exchange.
- 2000 Empire sells its 25% stake in Hannaford Bros Co for $1.03 billion.
- March 2002 Empire sells Serca Foodservice to SYSCO for $411 million.
- June 2005 When Wajax became an income trust, Empire sold 2.875 million shares for $50.8 million.
- 2006 Empire sells 44 properties to Crombie REIT.
- April 2008 Empire sells another 61 properties to Crombie REIT
- 2011 Empire sells its remaining share of Wajax.
- June 2013 Empire announces the sale of Empire Theatres to Cineplex Entertainment and Landmark Cinemas. The aggregate gross purchase price paid to Empire Theatres in the two transactions was approximately $248 million in cash.[8] [9]
- October 2013 Sale of Empire Theatres to Cineplex and Landmark is complete.
- August 2013 Sobeys sells the land of 68 Safeway locations to Crombie REIT for $900 million.
- Oct/Nov/Dec 2013 Sobeys announces the planned sale of 23 of its stores in Alberta in preparation to the Safeway acquisition; this move was required in order to satisfy the Competition Bureau.[10]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Archived copy . dead . 2020-09-11 . 2020-09-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200910033150/https://www.empireco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-Empire-AR-English-SEDAR.pdf .
- Web site: Archived copy. 2020-09-11. 2020-09-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200910033150/https://www.empireco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-Empire-AR-English-SEDAR.pdf. dead.
- Web site: Company website . 2013-06-13 . 2016-12-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161202072207/http://www.empireco.ca/en/home/aboutus/default.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Empire to buy Farm Boy chain for $800 million - Sobeys parent aims to accelerate fresh market's expansion. 2018-09-24. Supermarket News. 2018-09-27.
- Web site: 2015-05-13. Co-op Atlantic members say yes to Sobeys deal. 2021-08-13. Canadian Grocer. en.
- News: 'We will not screw this up': Sobeys parent to buy beloved Farm Boy in $800M deal. 2018-09-24. Financial Post. 2018-09-27. Empire’s real estate expertise, purchasing and distribution systems will help Farm Boy grow, York said, adding that it will be easier to get prime locations with Sobeys’ backing. Jackson. Emily.
- Web site: Sobeys parent company to buy 51% stake in Longo's, Grocery Gateway. cbc.ca. March 16, 2021.
- Web site: Empire Company Announces Sale of Empire Theatres. www.newswire.ca. 11 May 2016.
- Web site: EMPIRE COMPANY COMPLETES SALE OF EMPIRE THEATRES. 11 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213216/http://www.empireco.ca/site/media/Empireco/Empire%20Theatres%20Sale%20Closing%20-%20FINAL.pdf. 2016-03-03. dead.
- Web site: Sobeys to sell 23 stores in Safeway deal, says Competition Bureau. 16 March 2021.
