Cardenas to acquire Northgate’s share of Los Altos Ranch

The owners of CNG Ranch LLC, which includes managing partner Northgate Gonzalez Market, said Thursday they have reached an agreement to sell seven Los Altos Ranch Market stores in Arizona to Cardenas Markets.

The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, was expected to close in 45 days. Cardenas Markets were also part owners of the chain.

Northgate, based in Anaheim, Calif., said the sale would allow it to concentrate its efforts on its Southern California store base, where it operates 40 stores. Ontario, Calif.-based Cardenas, which recently merged with Mi Pueblo Markets, in the meantime continued its strategy of seeking increased size and scale to more efficiently serve the Hispanic market.

“We at Northgate Gonzalez Market believe this move will be a very positive one for our business, as we will now turn 100% of our attention to the Southern California Market, where the opportunities for continued growth are high, and we can expand our proven strategies within both our current and future stores," Miguel Gonzalez Reynoso, co-president of Northgate, said in a statement. “We believe Cardenas Markets is a good home for these stores, and we wish them well in their future.”

Los Altos Ranch operates five stores in Phoenix, and one each in Glendale and Mesa, Ariz. Those stores were founded as Pro’s Ranch Market and rebranded in 2014. Northgate a year ago sold its interest in other Los Altos markets in Texas and New Mexico.

During a transition period, Northgate will continue to provide key operational support services to the new Los Altos ownership through a transitional services agreement. The CNG Ranch ownership was assisted in the transaction by the investment banking firm of William Blair & Co. and the law firm of Brown & Streza LLP.