another baby step
Swisher Hygiene Enters Into Long-Term Distribution Agreement With Cheney Bros., Inc.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Swisher Hygiene Inc. ("Swisher Hygiene") (TSX:SWI - News), a leading full-service hygiene solutions provider, today announced that it has entered into a long-term distribution agreement with food service distributor Cheney Bros., Inc. ("Cheney Bros.") whereby Swisher Hygiene will become Cheney Bros.' provider of warewashing and laundry-related chemicals and Swisher Hygiene will utilize Cheney Bros. as a distribution partner in Florida and Georgia. As part of the agreement, Swisher Hygiene also purchased from Cheney Bros. certain assets relating to Cheney Bros.' warewashing and laundry business.
Founded in 1925, Cheney Bros. has grown to be the largest independent food service distributor in Florida, and the eleventh-largest food service distributor in the U.S. Today, Cheney Bros. inventories over 15,000 items and has over 9,500 active customers.
"We are excited to be partnering with a leading company such as Cheney Bros. as we build upon our recent growth in the Southeast to further expand our presence," said Wayne Huizenga, Chairman of Swisher Hygiene. "As a result of these agreements, Swisher Hygiene will be adding to Cheney Bros.' extremely knowledgeable warewash and laundry staff, as well as certain assets, which we believe will only strengthen our partnership going forward. This reaffirms Swisher Hygiene's commitment to providing service chemical programs with the strongest regional and local distributors throughout North America."
"Partnering with Swisher Hygiene to provide our chemical program will enable us to significantly expand our core distribution business," said Byron Russell, Chairman and CEO of Cheney Bros. "The agreement will provide Cheney's customers with a partner that can service them on a national basis, as well as provide a broader range of products, including green chemicals. In addition, we are very proud of the work our warewash and laundry team accomplished, and we are sure they will continue at Swisher Hygiene to perform at the highest capabilities. We wish them the best of luck going forward."
In connection with the agreements, Swisher Hygiene paid to Cheney Bros. consideration including the assumption of certain liabilities relating to the purchased assets and the issuance of two convertible promissory notes, which may be converted into a maximum of 291,928 shares of Swisher Hygiene common stock subject to certain restrictions, including acceptance for listing by the Toronto Stock Exchange. |
