On March 16, 2021, the shareholders of Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. (Longo's) entered into an agreement for the sale of 51% of Longo’s to Empire Company, with an option to put the remaining interest in Longo’s to Empire in tranches beginning after the fifth anniversary of the closing. The purchase price for the initial 51% interest is based on a total enterprise value of $700 million.
Founded in 1956, Longo’s is a family-owned Canadian business that operates 36 stores in communities across the Greater Toronto Area, as well as Grocery Gateway, a leader in online sales of home-delivered groceries.
Empire Company Limited is a Nova Scotia based conglomerate specializing in food retailing, through wholly-owned Sobeys Inc., and related real estate.
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP advised Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc., with a team consisting of Christopher Murray, Kai Sheffield, Claire Dunn, Alexandra Alacchi (Corporate), Shuli Rodal, Gajan Sathananthan (Competition), Drew Morier, James Chang (Tax), Savvas Kotsopoulos, Alexei Kovalev (Real Estate) and Patrick Welsh (Environmental).