Retail

Apollo Unloads a Third of Remaining Sprouts Stake

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM) announced that it will sell 15 million shares of its common stock held by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO). The affiliates of Apollo will be the only selling stockholders. The company will receive no proceeds from the offering.

UBS Securities is acting as the sole underwriter for the offering. The underwriter will have an option to purchase an additional 2.25 million shares from the selling stockholders. UBS also will offer the shares of common stock for sale from time to time on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Sprouts is a grocery store that offers fresh, natural and organic foods. The company offers fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, packaged groceries, meat and seafood, baked goods, dairy products, frozen foods, natural body care and household items catering to consumers’ growing interest in health and wellness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the company employs more than 17,000 team members and operates more than 190 stores in 10 states.

The company reported a better-than-expected $0.17 in earnings per share, as well as $762.5 million in revenue. Sprouts had a net income of $26.1 million for the third quarter.

Shares of Sprouts were trading down over 5% at $29.80 in late morning trading Tuesday. The consensus analyst price target is $35.65, and the 52-week trading range is $25.73 to $46.42. The market cap is over $4 billion.

Shares of Apollo were up more than 1% at $23.70, and they have a 52-week trading range of $20.02 to $36.51. It has a market cap of over $3 billion. The latest data as of June 30, 2014, showed that Apollo held almost 45.2 million shares with a 29.94% stake in Sprouts Farmers Market.

ALSO READ: Bain Unloads Half of Remaining Stake in Bloomin’ Brands

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