Sysco to buy US Foods for $3.5B

The country's two largest food distributors plan to join forces in Sysco's $3.5 billion purchase of US Foods from its private-equity owners.

With Sysco's annual revenue of $44 billion, the deal creates a company with revenue of $65 billion, at least a quarter of the $235 billion North American market, according to the Washington Post. Including US Foods' debt, the deal exceeds $8 billion.

Following the news, Sysco shares jumped this week as much as 25 percent to a record high of 43.40 per share.

Sysco officials touted the combination of its supply-chain expertise with the strong consumer-facing technologies of US Foods as key drivers for the deal.

Read more from the Washington Post.