Sysco to buy Restaurant Depot in $29 billion deal to serve more restaurants

Sysco, the Houston-based company that distributes food and supplies to restaurants and institutions, agreed on Monday to buy Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion, the Associated Press reported. The announcement positions Sysco to compete more directly in the market for supplies that restaurants and similar businesses purchase quickly to cover shortfalls.

Under the agreement, the acquisition is designed to create what Sysco described as a closer link between it and its customers. Some customers that need supplies on short notice currently turn to Restaurant Depot’s warehouses under a “cash-and-carry wholesale” model, where members can buy items when they run short of what they have already ordered from suppliers.

Sysco said it serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools and hotels. The company supplies a range of goods that customers typically buy ahead of time based on expected traffic, while the Restaurant Depot model is structured around replenishing inventory when demand changes faster than pre-scheduled orders.

Restaurant Depot, founded in Brooklyn in 1976 and previously known as Jetro Restaurant Depot, offers memberships that allow small restaurants and other businesses to access warehouses stocked with supplies. The AP reported that Restaurant Depot has grown into the nation’s largest cash-and-carry wholesaler and that the segment is fast-growing and high-margin, meaning the deal could lead more restaurants to rely on Sysco for everyday needs.

The agreement calls for Restaurant Depot shareholders to receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. The AP said the company based the deal valuation on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026, which implies an enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.

The boards of both Sysco and Restaurant Depot approved the acquisition, but the companies said it would still require regulatory approval before the transaction can close. Shares of Sysco Corp. fell 13% Monday to $71.26, an initial decline some analysts had expected given the cost of the deal.