The Chefs’ Warehouse acquires Middle Eastern food distributor

The Chefs’ Warehouse Inc., the Ridgefield-based distributor of specialty food products in North America, has acquired Chef Middle East (CME), a specialty food distributor with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, from Gulf Capital, a leading alternative asset management firm in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and Chefs”™ Warehouse stated its purchase of CME is expected to generate between $160 million and $180 million in annual net sales and $11 million and $14 million in EBITDA.

“This is exciting news for The Chefs”™ Warehouse, our partners, employees and our new colleagues at Chef Middle East,” said The Chefs”™ Warehouse Chairman & CEO, Christopher Pappas. “Similar to our positioning in the US and Canada, CME is the premier provider of specialty food products to the higher-end restaurants, hotels and catering establishments in the region. Their product portfolio mirrors ours in many ways and includes high-quality imported specialty foods, meat and seafood, pastry and bakery goods along with broadline product lines.”