Penn Traffic to sell wholesale business for $43 million

SYRACUSE, N.Y. The Penn Traffic Company has agreed to sell its wholesale business segment to C&S Wholesale Grocers, the supermarket operator announced Wednesday.

The sale, worth about $43 million, will allow Penn Traffic to focus on retail supermarkets and consumers, the company said. Penn Traffic will use proceeds from the divestiture and last month’s sale of two stores in New York and New Hampshire to pay down a majority of its outstanding debt, including a $17 million revolving line of credit and approximately $15 million of the company?s $25 million supplemental real estate facility.

The Syracuse, N.Y.-based company owns and operates supermarkets in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire under the P&C, Quality and BiLo banners.

“For nearly a year, we’ve been executing a strategy that includes focusing resources on our top-performing and highest-potential operations in our core store portfolio, while working to lower corporate administrative expenses and not-for-resale costs,” Penn Traffic president and chief executive officer Gregory Young said. “Now, with the significant deleveraging of the balance sheet, we expect to accelerate our progress toward rebuilding the company, restoring profitability and positioning Penn Traffic for long-term success.”