Sysco expands into high-margin restaurant segment with $29 billion deal
NEW YORK (AP) — Sysco, the nation's largest food distributor, will acquire supplier Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion.
The acquisition would create a closer link between Sysco and customers that rely on Restaurant Depot for supplies needed quickly in an industry segment known as “cash-and-carry wholesale.”
Sysco, based in Houston, serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools, hotels, supplying them with everything from butter and eggs to napkins. Those goods are typically acquired on a regular basis to cover items that these locations know they'll need.
Restaurant Depot offers memberships to mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses, giving them access to warehouses stocked with supplies for when they run short of what they've purchased from suppliers like Sysco.
It is a fast growing and high-margin segment that will likely mean thousands of restaurants will rely increasingly on Sysco for day-to-day needs.
Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. Based on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026, the deal has an enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.
Restaurant Depot was founded in Brooklyn in 1976. The family run business then known as Jetro Restaurant Depot, has become the nation's largest cash-and-carry wholesaler.
The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition, but it would still need regulatory approval.
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