CHICAGO, August 11, 2025 — Rebuffed so far in its efforts to forge some sort of combination with arch-rival Performance Food Group (PFG), foodservice distributor US Foods acknowledged last week that it’s still open to a merger.
“Our ask of PFG is simply to work together to further understand the merits and opportunities of a potential combination,” US Foods CEO David Flitman told Wall Street analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
During the call, Flitman offered the first public confirmation that US Foods had sought a merger. Shortly before taking questions from analysts on the conference line, Flitman volunteered that his team had approached PFG about the two companies joining forces. Their combination would have formed the nation’s largest foodservice distributor, with sales far outstripping the revenues of market leader Sysco Corp.
If US Foods and PFG merged today, they would have combined sales of about $70.4 billion, compared with Sysco's annual U.S. foodservice revenues of about $57 billion.
“We believe a combination would bring together the best of both companies,” Flitman said, contending that a single organization would provide a standout in service, or what many operators regard as a strength of US Foods, and technology, for which PFG is known.
“We believe customers would further benefit from a broader product offering, our strengthened ability to compete in the marketplace, and greater efficiencies,” Flitman continued.
He then cut off any further discussion with the financial analysts on the line, declaring he had nothing more to say on the topic and would not address any questions on the topic.
The possibility first came to light in mid-July via a single news report from the Bloomberg news service. At the time, neither party would comment on the report.
Both US Foods and PFG are publicly owned, as is Sysco.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.