“Extreme-value” retailer Grocery Outlet, which operates 198 stores in the Western U.S. plus 16 Amelia’s supermarkets in Pennsylvania, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman, an investment firm in San Francisco.
The chain’s principal owner for the last five years has been Berkshire Partners, based in Boston. The chain was founded in 1946 and has been profitable ever since, according to a company representative.
The stores in Pennsylvania operating as Amelia’s are in the process of converting to the new banner. The Amelia’s chain was purchased by Grocery Outlet in 2012.
Grocery Outlet offers branded grocery products at discount prices, with the stores mostly managed by independent operators.
Hellman & Friedman Managing Director Erik Ragatz says his company plans to move the brand “into its next phase of growth.”