Skip navigation
US Foods buys Dierks Waukesha

US Foods buys Dierks Waukesha

Acquisition of regional distributor signals restart of US Foods’ growth

US Foods has bought Dierks Waukesha, a Waukesha, Wis.-based regional distributor, in a bid to strengthen its presence in the Upper Midwest, the company said Friday.

Terms of the deal, expected to close by the end of the year, were not disclosed.

The deal is the first acquisition Rosemont, Ill.-based US Foods has made since the collapse of its merger with larger rival Sysco Corp. last year. After the merger failed, US Foods executives said that they planned to return to the company’s acquisition strategy.

Dierks is one of dozens of smaller, regional distributors in a business that is largely fragmented outside the two biggest competitors, US Foods and Sysco. As a result, such acquisitions have become commonplace. Dierks has 3,500 customers in Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Upper Michigan and Eastern Minnesota. Many of them are fine-dining restaurants and caterers to schools and institutional organizations.

The company has $120 million in annual sales and is a leading distributor in the Upper Midwest.

“Dierks has been a top foodservice provider for restaurants throughout the area since 1963, and you don’t stay in business that long without doing things right,” Russell Scott, Midwest region president for US Foods, said in a statement. “We are excited to build on the great reputation of Dierks and introduce its customers to the innovative products and best-in-class marketing, technology and business solutions that have made US Foods an industry leader.”

US Foods is also looking to grow as the company prepares for an IPO sometime in the next 12 to 18 months.

US Foods will service customers throughout the Upper Midwest from its distribution center in Menomonee Falls, Wis., and the Dierks distribution center in Waukesha. Dierks employees will join US Foods.

“We are excited to welcome the very talented Dierks team to the US Foods family,” US Foods CEO Pietro Satriano said in a statement. “The addition of this great team and the new distribution center will allow us to better serve our customers throughout the area, and positions us for continued growth throughout the region.”

Thomas Muehl, one of the owners of Dierks, and CEO, Kevin Musser, will both join US Foods. Both will play a role in the transition of the business.

“US Foods has a lot to offer both our customers and our employees,” Muehl said in a statement. “I’m excited that the Dierks team will now be a part of this great company and for our customers to gain access to the expanded offering from US Foods that is sure to help them be even more successful.”

Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanmaze

Hide comments

Comments

  • Allowed HTML tags: <em> <strong> <blockquote> <br> <p>

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Publish