Market Basket deal remains on track despite meeting cancellation Arthur T. Demoulas bids $1.5 billion for Market Basket chain Published 7:38 AM EDT Aug 25, 2014 96 NEXT STORY James Foley remembered at memorial Mass in Rochester Deal in progress to end Market Basket protests SHOW TRANSCRIPT BOSTON —A deal that would allow former Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas to buy full ownership of the supermarket chain for reportedly $1.5 billion remains on track, despite the cancellation of a board meeting Sunday night. RELATED Source close to Market Basket... NH, Mass. governors say Market Basket... Survey: Many workers afraid of... What is the best farmers market in... Market Basket workers hope resolution... Click to view News 9s report. Sources said the phone conference was canceled only because it is taking longer than anticipated to sort the details out. The complex, estimated $1.5 billion deal must be approved by all shareholders on Arthur S. Demoulas side of the family. An announcement of the deal is still expected in the coming days. By the numbers: Market Basket through the years Market Basket, which has 71 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, has been in turmoil for weeks since Demoulas June ouster. The popular CEO was fired by a board of directors controlled by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, the culmination of a family feud that has divided the company for years. The Lowell Sun reports that on Saturday, Arthur T. Demoulas made a surprise visit to a Market Basket in Chelmsford to thank employees for standing by him. He just came by to talk to everybody, shake their hands and say thanks a lot for being out here and that he appreciated it, assistant store manager Buddy Lehmann told The Sun. It was uplifting to see him here. The governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire said Friday theyre optimistic the long-running dispute that has hobbled a New England supermarket chain will be resolved with an agreement to sell the company to its ousted CEO. In a joint statement issued late Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said they expect the company will restore Arthur T. Demoulas to operating authority on an interim basis, pending completion of the sale. The governors, who have been briefed by all parties involved in the dispute, said they are hopeful employees will return to work and stores will reopen early next week. Patrick and Hassan also said the companys board of directors has agreed to forestall taking adverse employment action against employees who left their jobs in protest of Demoulas ouster, subject to reducing their agreement in principle to writing by Sunday. Weve been doing this too long to get too excited, fired Market Basket executive Tom Gordon said. Until we hear from our boss, Artie T., were not celebrating. A statement was released on behalf of Arthur T. Demoulas and said the deal should be finalized immediately. Having submitted his final bid on Thursday and heard the statement of the governors this evening, Arthur T. Demoulas expects that this purchase can and should be finalized immediately, the statement said. The bid remains at full price and its terms are extremely favorable to the sellers. There is nothing that stands in the way of getting this done this weekend. Its time to complete this deal so we can all get back to doing what we love doing, and that is running Market Basket. There are lots of people in limbo: vendors, workers, suppliers, Gordon said. Lots of people need this to happen. Hundreds of warehouse workers and drivers refused to deliver food to the low-cost chains stores in protest, leading to empty shelves and millions in lost revenue for the company. Customers supported the employees by boycotting stores, as the companys two new CEOs tried unsuccessfully to persuade employees to go back to work. Read more: wcvb/news/gov-patrick-optimistic-about-market-basket-deal/27689196#ixzz3BQVFAqKB
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:37:27 +0000
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