A Reyes Holdings Company
December 21, 2004
Dear Customer,
RE: Change of Ownership
Please accept this letter as a formal announcement of the pending change in ownership of Reinhart FoodService. After 32 years of successful ownership, Marge Reinhart and the Reinhart family have entered into an agreement to sell RFS to Reyes Holdings, L.L.C . headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.
Reyes Holdings distributes high quality beer and food products throughout North, Central and South America. They operate the largest beer distribution business in the United States. Reyes also owns The Martin-Brower Company, L.L.C. , a specialized quick-service restaurant distribution business that operates in seven countries, and MBX Logistics, L.L.C. , a managed supply chain logistics business operating in the U.S. and Canada. Forbes recently ranked Reyes Holdings as the 30th largest privately held company in the USA, and Crain’s Chicago Business marks it as the 3rd largest privately held company in the Chicago area. With the addition of Reinhart FoodService, Reyes Holdings’ revenues in 2005 are projected to exceed $7 billion and its employee base will grow to over 6,500.
Commenting on the proposed transaction, J. Christopher Reyes, Co-Chairman of Reyes Holdings, said,
“We are truly excited to add Reinhart FoodService to our portfolio of companies and welcome its outstanding employees to the Reyes Holdings team. Reinhart FoodService maintains the same high quality reputation with its customers that we have earned with our customers in the beer distribution and food distribution businesses. RFS will continue to be led by Mark Drazkowski as Chief Executive Officer and Boyd Jordan as Executive Vice President along with the current management team.”
M. Jude Reyes, Co-Chairman added,
“Reinhart is a very complementary business to our current base. We are very impressed with its executive team, and will support the company’s leadership as it continues to build the business in the vibrant food-away-from-home sector. This transaction positions Reyes Holdings as one of the preeminent foodservice companies in the United States and provides a platform for continued growth.”
The decision to sell the business was difficult. However, once that decision was made, Marge Reinhart and the Reinhart family were delighted that a quality company like Reyes Holdings was interested. Backed by Reyes Holdings, we can move forward knowing that our customers can expect the same first-rate service that they have been accustomed to receiving for many years. In addition, our employees will continue to have a great place to work as we will continue to operate the same facilities in the same communities that we have in the past.
I would also like to take this opportunity to communicate the deep sense of gratitude that we all have for Marge Reinhart and the entire Reinhart family. Their 32 years of ownership, guidance and support have contributed greatly to our success. On behalf of all employees, we thank them for all that they have done to build and develop this company. We wish them great success in the future.
While we are sad to see their ownership come to an end, we are confident that the future of the RFS organization remains very bright. Over the past several months, I have spent many hours with Chris and Jude Reyes and their senior management team. I am very impressed with not only the business acumen, but also, the entrepreneurial spirit of their organization. I look forward to our association with our new owners with both optimism and excitement.
Please join with me in extending an enthusiastic welcome to Chris and Jude Reyes and their entire team as we join operations with their fine family of companies!
Sincerely, REINHART FOODSERVICE, L.L.C. Mark Drazkowski Chief Executive Officer