HOUSTON, March 30, 2026, 06:42 CDT
- Sysco said Monday it will acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot, striking a cash-and-stock deal valued at $29.1 billion including debt.
- Jetro shareholders are set to get $21.6 billion in cash plus 91.5 million shares of Sysco, which will land them roughly a 16% stake in the merged company.
- Sysco shares slipped roughly 1% ahead of the New York open. The company is hitting pause on buybacks, but it’s sticking with its full-year guidance.
Sysco on Monday announced plans to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot in a $29.1 billion transaction, a move that pushes the food distribution giant further into warehouse-style wholesale targeting smaller food operators. Under the terms, Jetro’s shareholders will get $21.6 billion in cash along with 91.5 million Sysco shares.
That’s a key shift for Sysco—it’s a direct route into the cash-and-carry segment, where customers shop in person and carry out their purchases, skipping delivery entirely. Sysco pegs the value of that market in the U.S. at somewhere between $60 billion and $70 billion, pointing out that independent restaurants are especially active here: they’re looking for the lowest possible prices and immediate access to inventory.
The news follows the collapse of merger discussions between US Foods and Performance Food Group back in November, scrapping a deal that Reuters had previously called a possible threat to Sysco’s dominance in food distribution.
Restaurant Depot runs 166 warehouses across 35 states, supplying over 725,000 independent restaurants and foodservice operators. According to Sysco, the company brought in around $16 billion in revenue for 2025. If you combine both businesses, annual sales would have come close to $100 billion.
Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s CEO, described Jetro as a “best-in-class operator” and pointed to the chain’s potential, saying Sysco now has a “long runway” to open more than 125 new sites over the next twenty years. Jetro executive chairman Stanley Fleishman called Sysco the “best possible partner” for what’s next. GlobeNewswire
Sysco plans to let Jetro operate independently, with Richard Kirschner still at the helm and headquarters remaining in Whitestone, New York. The deal brings Jetro directors Sir Bradley Fried and Fleishman onto Sysco’s board. According to both companies, no workforce reductions are planned.
Sysco’s funding plan is sizable. The company said it’s looking to raise around $21 billion in fresh debt and related securities for the cash part, add in another $1 billion from cash reserves or equity, and hand over about 19.1% of its outstanding shares to Jetro holders.
Sysco is looking at leverage of roughly 4.5 times earnings at the close. The company says its dividend stays, but share buybacks are on pause. Management targets bringing leverage down by over a point within the next two years.
Sysco expects the acquisition to generate around $250 million in annual cost savings over a three-year stretch, citing procurement and inbound supply chain tweaks as the main drivers. The company’s outlook points to adjusted earnings per share getting a mid- to high-single-digit percentage bump in year one post-close, with growth accelerating to a low- to mid-teens percentage range in year two.
Sysco was last seen trading at $81.80, off roughly 1% from its prior close, as of 7:42 a.m. EDT. U.S. stock markets hadn’t opened yet.
Still, significant obstacles remain. Sysco flagged in its filings that regulatory signoff is required—a process that could drag out or fall through entirely. The company also cautioned that synergies might take longer to materialize, and both the debt financing and business integration could turn out tougher than anticipated.
There’s precedent for that risk. Back in 2015, the Federal Trade Commission moved to block Sysco’s attempt to buy US Foods, arguing the transaction threatened competition in broadline foodservice distribution. The court sided with the FTC, granting a preliminary injunction, prompting the two companies to walk away from the deal.
Sysco is framing its Restaurant Depot move as a push into new territory, steering clear of comparisons to its previous high-profile merger battle. The company stuck to its fiscal 2026 outlook, projecting adjusted earnings per share at the upper end of the $4.50-to-$4.60 range. If regulators approve, Sysco says the deal should wrap up by the third quarter of fiscal 2027.
