OKLAHOMA CITY -- Homeland Stores here said it has completed the sale of 29 stores and its warehouse complex to Associated Wholesale Grocers, Kansas City, Kan. Under terms of the sale, AWG paid Homeland $45 million, plus the value of inventory in the warehouse and in the 29 stores. The sale will enable Homeland to refocus on its core retail business and reduce debt burden and fixed operating costs, said James Demme, president and chief executive officer of Homeland. For AWG, the additional volume from the 29 stores -- plus the merchandise for Homeland's remaining 75 stores that will now be bought through AWG -- will add $400 million to 500 million to AWG's base of $2.6 billion, Mike DeFabis, president and chief executive officer, said. According to DeFabis, the 29 former Homeland stores -- 24 in Oklahoma and five in Kansas -- have been sold to 14 independent operators. AWG will establish a third wholesale division here in the 645,000-square-foot former Homeland facility. Its two existing divisions are in Kansas City, Kan., and Springfield, Mo. Homeland said it has refinanced its bank indebtedness with a $25-million credit facility from a consortium of banks led by National Bank of Canada. Homeland disclosed an agreement in principle for the transaction in November, as reported.
