Key keywords: Sysco acquisition, Restaurant Depot $29B merger, WSJ business exclusive, foodservice distribution consolidation, US restaurant supply chain, bulk hospitality supplies provider, foodservice antitrust review, Jetro Holdings Citing anonymous sources familiar with the negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 25, 2024 that leading global foodservice distributor Sysco is in the final stages of closing a $29 billion deal to acquire Restaurant Depot, the membership-based bulk restaurant supply chain owned by Jetro Holdings. The total valuation includes approximately $7 billion in outstanding debt tied to Restaurant Depot, and the official announcement is expected to come as early as next week, pending final board approvals from both companies. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sysco currently serves over 650,000 clients across North America, including large national restaurant chains, K-12 school districts, hospitals, and hospitality venues. The company has long sought to expand its footprint among small, independent food service operators, a demographic where Restaurant Depot has built a dominant, loyal customer base over the past 34 years. Founded in 1990, Restaurant Depot operates 136 no-frills warehouse locations across 38 U.S. states, serving more than 300,000 independent restaurant owners, food truck operators, café proprietors, and small catering businesses. Its self-service, membership-only model offers prices 10% to 15% lower than traditional full-service distributors, a value proposition that has made it a critical resource for small food businesses navigating post-pandemic cost pressures. Industry analysts estimate the combined entity would generate roughly $85 billion in annual revenue, expanding Sysco’s national market share to approximately 28% and widening its lead over closest competitor US Foods by nearly 30 percentage points. The merger is expected to deliver over $1.2 billion in annual operational synergies by 2027, driven by combined purchasing power, optimized warehouse routing, and cross-selling of Sysco’s prepared food and specialty ingredient lines to Restaurant Depot’s small business client base. The deal will face close scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators, who blocked Sysco’s planned $3.5 billion acquisition of US Foods in 2015 over concerns about reduced competition and potential price hikes for restaurant operators. Legal experts note that the two companies have far less overlapping market coverage than Sysco and US Foods did in 2015, but regulators may still require the divestiture of warehouse locations in 12 to 15 regional markets where both brands currently operate to gain approval. If cleared, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.