Performance Food to be combined with Vistar

Food distributor Performance Food Group Co. said Friday it agreed to be acquired for about $1.3 billion by an affiliate of private equity firm Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management, a private investment company.

Photo: Performance Food to be combined with Vistar

Performance Food said it will be combined with Vistar Corp., a foodservice distributor that Blackstone and Wellspring Capital already control, the AP reports.

Performance Food Group Company (PFGC) is a Fortune 500 company that was founded in 1875. The company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, distributes a number of food products.

Blackstone Group L.P. is a private equity and investment management firm founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman. The company is based in New York City, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg, Paris, Mumbai and Hong Kong. One of the world's largest private equity firms, it is part of the migration of companies from public to private hands — a total of some US$370 billion in deals in the United States in 2006.

Wellspring Capital Management, founded in 1995, is a leading middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $2 billion of private equity capital. The firm’s objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment.

The firm functions as a strategic rather than tactical partner, providing management teams with top-line support, M&A experience and financial expertise, and access to resources. Wellspring has one of the best track records in private equity. Its capital and reputation bring certainty to every transaction.