STATER BUYS BACK VOTING CONTROL

COLTON, Calif. -- Stater Bros. Holdings, parent company of Stater Bros. Markets here, has completed its purchase of voting control of its stock from Craig Corp., Los Angeles, which had acquired 50% of the chain's shares.

ing the stock outright.

Under the purchase agreement, La Cadena Investments, which is controlled by Stater management and which owns 50% of the chain's stock, paid Craig $42 million to gain immediate voting control of Craig's portion of the stock. Stater has a long-term option to purchase the stock outright for an additional $18 million.

As part of the agreement, Stater also returned more than 300,000 shares of Craig stock, valued at approximately $3.4 million, to Craig.

Craig, a holding company, has owned half of Stater's stock since 1986, when it helped Stater management acquire majority control of the chain during a proxy fight with other equity shareholders.

After management had gained control, the entire stock base was split, with La Cadena and Craig each controlling half.

Stater operates 109 supermarkets in southern California, mostly in the San Bernardino-Riverside County Inland Empire.