U S Foodservice Company

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that Dutch food retailer Ahold would not be prosecuted in an $800-million accounting scandal involving its U.S. FoodService Inc. unit. Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said a non-prosecution deal was reached with Ahold because the retailer cooperated fully with its investigation and entered into a $1.1-billion settlement with investors. According to the agreement, Ahold must continue to cooperate with the U.S.

Royal Ahold, the Netherlands-based operator of Giant, Stop & Shop and other grocery chains, said Wednesday that it agreed to sell distributor U.S. Foodservice to a consortium of private equity firms for $7.1 billion. The sale would cut ties between Ahold and the subsidiary whose accounting scandal caused it to overstate earnings by about $1 billion from 1999 to 2002, pushing it to the brink of bankruptcy. Ahold has gradually returned to firm financial footing by refinancing and selling assets.

Royal Ahold, Europe's third-largest supermarket company, agreed to buy U.S. Foodservice Inc. for $3.6 billion to become a supplier of food to U.S. sports stadiums, restaurants and other businesses. The Dutch owner of the Giant and Stop & Shop chains would pay $26 a share in cash, a 42% premium to U.S. Foodservice's closing price Monday, and assume $925 million in debt. The purchase of the No. 2 U.S. food distributor gives Ahold immediate access to a $150-billion-a-year market.

Supermarket chain operator Royal Ahold announced plans Monday to sell its U.S. Foodservice Inc. unit as part of a major strategic shift back to its roots in retail. As part of the plan, Ahold also said, it would sell its Tops stores in New York and Pennsylvania, its retail operations in Poland and Slovakia and its 49% stake in Portugal's Jeronimo Martins Retail.

Supermarket chain operator Royal Ahold announced plans Monday to sell its U.S. Foodservice Inc. unit as part of a major strategic shift back to its roots in retail. As part of the plan, Ahold also said, it would sell its Tops stores in New York and Pennsylvania, its retail operations in Poland and Slovakia and its 49% stake in Portugal's Jeronimo Martins Retail.

U.S. prosecutors Tuesday unveiled securities fraud charges against four former executives of U.S. Foodservice Inc., accusing them of orchestrating an accounting scandal that battered the food distributor and its Dutch parent company, Royal Ahold. In the first U.S. criminal charges resulting from the scandal, federal prosecutors accused the onetime managers of conspiring to inflate the company's earnings by about $800 million over a two-year period.

* U.S. Foodservice, the nation's second-largest distributor of food to restaurants and institutions behind Sysco Corp., agreed to buy Joseph Webb Foods Inc. for an undisclosed price to boost its business in California. Vista-based Joseph Webb operates in Los Angeles and Northern California and had sales of about $157 million last year. U.S. Foodservice shares rose 56 cents to close at $48.06 on the NYSE.

Royal Ahold, the Netherlands-based operator of Giant, Stop & Shop and other grocery chains, said Wednesday that it agreed to sell distributor U.S. Foodservice to a consortium of private equity firms for $7.1 billion. The sale would cut ties between Ahold and the subsidiary whose accounting scandal caused it to overstate earnings by about $1 billion from 1999 to 2002, pushing it to the brink of bankruptcy. Ahold has gradually returned to firm financial footing by refinancing and selling assets.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that Dutch food retailer Ahold would not be prosecuted in an $800-million accounting scandal involving its U.S. FoodService Inc. unit. Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said a non-prosecution deal was reached with Ahold because the retailer cooperated fully with its investigation and entered into a $1.1-billion settlement with investors. According to the agreement, Ahold must continue to cooperate with the U.S.

U.S. prosecutors Tuesday unveiled securities fraud charges against four former executives of U.S. Foodservice Inc., accusing them of orchestrating an accounting scandal that battered the food distributor and its Dutch parent company, Royal Ahold. In the first U.S. criminal charges resulting from the scandal, federal prosecutors accused the onetime managers of conspiring to inflate the company's earnings by about $800 million over a two-year period.

Royal Ahold, Europe's third-largest supermarket company, agreed to buy U.S. Foodservice Inc. for $3.6 billion to become a supplier of food to U.S. sports stadiums, restaurants and other businesses. The Dutch owner of the Giant and Stop & Shop chains would pay $26 a share in cash, a 42% premium to U.S. Foodservice's closing price Monday, and assume $925 million in debt. The purchase of the No. 2 U.S. food distributor gives Ahold immediate access to a $150-billion-a-year market.

* U.S. Foodservice, the nation's second-largest distributor of food to restaurants and institutions behind Sysco Corp., agreed to buy Joseph Webb Foods Inc. for an undisclosed price to boost its business in California. Vista-based Joseph Webb operates in Los Angeles and Northern California and had sales of about $157 million last year. U.S. Foodservice shares rose 56 cents to close at $48.06 on the NYSE.