QUALITY FOOD CENTERS, Bellevue, Wash., said last week it will offer 4.5 million shares of its common stock to the public. The offering is being made to provide part of the financing necessary to pay the total cash consideration in connection with the company's proposed acquisition of Hughes Family Markets, Irwindale, Calif., the company said. Proceeds also will go to refinance bank debt, including debt incurred in connection with the company's recent acquisition of Keith Uddenberg Inc., Gig Harbor, Wash.
rement.
IS BYERLY'S FOR SALE? Reports have been circulating for several weeks that the 13-store upscale chain, based in Edina, Minn., is about to be sold. Jack Morrison, Byerly's chairman, declined to confirm or deny the reports last week when contacted by SN. However, he indicated that the investors who purchased the chain from the Byerly family in 1990 will seek to liquidate their investment at some point. Although no single investor owns a majority of the company, Morrison said Byerly's investors include two companies that own about 60% of the stock -- Minneapolis-based Goldner, Hawn, Johnson & Morrison and Chase Venture Partners, New York. Minority owners include Don Byerly, members of chain management and financial institutions that own Byerly's warrants. The 13 Byerly's stores, including two that opened in the Chicago area last year, do annual sales of $325 million to $350 million.
