AWG Buys Assets From Bankrupt Co-Op

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Associated Wholesale Grocers here has begun supplying most of the former members of Affiliated Foods Southwest after entering into an agreement with the Little Rock-based member-owned cooperative to purchase certain assets from it, primarily the inventory.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Little Rock is expected to approve the agreement within a day or so. Affiliated filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 on Tuesday.

Affiliated's customer base, which encompassed approximately 400 stores in a six-state area generating $730 million in sales as of last June, has dwindled considerably, Al Miller, a company spokesman, told SN yesterday, with volume and customer counts down by about half, he said.

The deal will add approximately $350 million to AWG's sales base of $7 billion.

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