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Southeastern Grocers shelves IPO

Winn-Dixie parent halts public offering for second time in seven years

Russell Redman

January 29, 2021

3 Min Read
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In holding back its IPO, Southeastern Grocers said the company will "continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop."Southeastern Grocers

Southeastern Grocers has postponed an initial public offering just a week after its launch.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, announced the move Thursday evening but didn’t give a reason for putting off the IPO. The retailer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

“The company will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop,” Southeastern Grocers stated.

Under the IPO announced Jan. 21, Southeastern Grocers’s selling stockholders planned to offer 8.9 million common stock shares at $14 to $16 per share and grant the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to another 1.335 million common shares, with the potential to raise up to $163.76 million. Citing an anonymous source, Reuters reported that the company saw lackluster interest in its shares at that price range.

Major market indices opened on the downside in Friday morning trading, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-237 points), S&P 500 (-26 points) and Nasdaq Composite Index (-77 points). The Dow opened down 644 points from Jan. 21, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 79 points and 237 points, respectively, in that time frame. The stock market also has experienced volatility this month amid spiking share prices for companies such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which have drawn a flood of young investors via stock trading apps.

Related:Southeastern Grocers launches IPO

Southeastern Grocers filed for the IPO in October. The company said it has applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SEGR.”

“A registration statement relating to the proposed sale of these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective,” Southeastern Grocers said yesterday in its announcement putting the IPO on hold. “These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.”

The IPO marks the second time in seven years that Southeastern Grocers has explored going public — and then held its offering. Bi-Lo Holdings, the former parent of Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, filed for an IPO in September 2013 under the name Southeastern Grocers LLC. Eleven months later, in August 2014, the company withdrew the registration, which hadn’t been updated since the filing and hadn’t been declared effective by the SEC.

Southeastern Grocers reported in the IPO prospectus that, as of Dec. 30, 2020, the company operated 523 stores in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina and Mississippi. Following the IPO and store divestitures, the company said it will operate 419 supermarkets under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más banners in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. About 87% of the retailer’s grocery store base will consist of the Winn-Dixie banner.

Related:Southeastern Grocers finishes 2020 with upgraded store base

The retailer continues to push ahead with a phaseout of the Bi-Lo banner as part of a five-year business transformation strategy following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2018. In the S-1 filing for the IPO, the company said it was still working on divesting 39 Bi-Lo stores and one Harveys store.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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