Market Basket board: 'Multiple bids' remain on table
By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com
Updated: 07/29/2014 04:04:03 PM EDT
Arthur T. Demoulas is the only remaining bidder for Market Basket being considered by the chain's board of directors as the company continues to lose millions of dollars in sales, according to reports.
Demoulas said last week he made an offer to buy the 50.5 percent of the company that his side of the family does not own. Since Demoulas was fired as CEO on June 23, the Tewksbury chain has been in turmoil as employees demand their old boss back.
Demoulas' offer price has not been disclosed. But the company has more than $4 billion in sales, and Kevin Griffin, the editor of the supermarket industry publication The Griffin Report, estimated the company's value at $3 billion to $3.5 billion.
The Boston Globe and Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence cited sources Tuesday afternoon reporting that Demoulas' bid was the only one still being considered. Spokespeople for the board did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
The board of directors previously said it will consider Demoulas' offer and make a recommendation to shareholders. Demoulas and his side of the family have been fighting on and off for about four decades with the other branch of the family, the one associated with his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas.
The two Arthurs' fathers ran the business together for years. Arthur T.'s father, Telemachus, took over the company after George, Arthur S.'s father, died in 1971.
Market Basket's empty stores have created a windfall for its competitors, like Stop & Shop, Shaw's and Hannaford.
Maine-based Hannaford confirmed on Tuesday that it has brought in extra help for its busiest stores. Spokesman Eric Blom said the chain wanted to make sure stores have adaquate coverage but declined to give details such as how many stores were being given extra staffing or where.
Shaw's and Stop & Shop did not provide details on whether they've been moving workers around for extra staffing.
The Market Basket boycott has sent so many shoppers elsewhere that Market Basket in recent days has had to donate unused bread and other items to the Greater Merrimack and Greater Boston food banks, among others.
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