INDIANAPOLIS, June 14, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Two of Indiana's oldest and most popular grocery chains joined forces today with the announcement that Marsh Supermarkets Inc. (Nasdaq:MARSA) (Nasdaq:MARSB) has entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of O'Malia Food Markets. The agreement includes several contingencies, which are expected to be resolved prior to the closing of the transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Don E. Marsh, chairman, president and CEO of Marsh Supermarkets Inc., said the Carmel-based O'Malia company would retain its identity and become an operating division of Marsh Supermarkets Inc. Danny O'Malia, president of O'Malia's, will remain in that role. Marsh said their 700 O'Malia employees will be encouraged to stay in the new arrangement.
Marsh Supermarkets, one of the country's largest regional grocery chains, operates 70 Marsh Supermarkets, 29 LoBill stores, two Savin*$(r), and 188 Village Pantry convenience stores in central Indiana and western Ohio. Meanwhile, O'Malia's operates eight stores -- four in Indianapolis and four in Hamilton County.
"We are delighted to bring the O'Malia stores into our family of companies," said Marsh. "Theirs is a family-owned business we have respected for years, and they serve their market niche in this area with quality, energy and creativity. Because we have similar corporate cultures and philanthropic concerns for our community, our combination is a natural fit."
Danny O'Malia echoed those sentiments, noting the importance of preserving an O'Malia presence in the community. "We feel comfortable with the Marsh management style," said O'Malia, "and we are especially pleased to ally with a company where major decisions will continue to be made locally."
Citing a growing trend toward greater consolidation in American business, O'Malia said, "As a small family-owned business, our access to the capital necessary for growth and expansion was increasingly limited. Now adequate resources will be available for us not only to survive but prosper as part of a large and very successful enterprise. This bodes well for all our employees and customers."
The roots of O'Malia stores in the area go back to March 2, 1966, when Danny's father, Joe O'Malia, opened a small Hamilton County market at 10450 North College Avenue -- virtually an undeveloped area back in those days. Over the years, the chain was expanded throughout Greater Indianapolis into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.
In the mid-1980s, father Joe began to take a lower profile in the company. In 1986, son Danny, who had joined the company 11 years earlier after completing a graduate degree at Butler University, was elevated to the presidency of the firm. Joe O'Malia passed away in 1996, with son Danny assuming full direction of the management team that also included his brothers David and Dennis and his sister Sharon.
O'Malia's has long demonstrated a special commitment to the inner city by retaining a store at 320 North New Jersey, in what formerly was a large Sears property. That decision has consistently drawn the praise of city leadership.
By the time O'Malia's first store was in place 35 years ago, the Marsh chain was already firmly established. Ermal Marsh, Don's father, opened the first Marsh store in Muncie in 1931. The company remained privately held until 1953 when Ermal took it public.
One of the largest regional grocery chains in the United States, Marsh Supermarkets operates 70 Marsh Supermarkets, 29 LoBill Foods(r) stores, 2 Savin*$(r), and 188 Village Pantry convenience stores in central Indiana and western Ohio. The company also operates Convenience Store Distributing Company, a wholesale food and grocery merchandise company that services 1,300 stores in a nine-state area, Crystal Food Services(SM), which provides catering, cafeteria management and vending in Indiana, and McNamara Florists and Enflora - Flowers for Business.
Marsh Supermarkets Inc. is a publicly held company which employs 16,000 people in its various divisions, principally in a two-state area. Marsh stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System (MARSA and MARSB).