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Fred Meyer grows
with major buyout
A grocery empire founded when
Fred Meyer began peddling coffee
door Io door in 1909 announced a
$4 X hi I lion deal to create the nation's
fourth-largest supermarket chain.
Fred Meyer Inc. said it will buy
Ralphs Grocery Co. of Los Angeles
and Quality Food Centers Inc. of
Bellevue. Wash., pushing the gro
cery business into the wave of con
solidations that have swept others in
the retail industry
"Sure, you can still build new
stores." said Robert G. Miller, chief
executive officer of Portland-based
Fred Meyer. "But with consolidation,
you have lots of cost savings. It just
makes us a much stronger retailer."
The acquisitions will create a $ 15
billion multiregional supermarket
chain with 88.000 employees and
more than 800 food stores in 14 states.
I l also will make the chain the market
leader in Los Angeles. Seattle. Salt
I .ake City. Las Vegas and Albuquer
que. N.M.. and No. 2 in Portland and
Phoenix.
"W e'll have the No. I and No. 2
market positions in most of the top
10 fastest-growing cities in the na
tion." said Stuart Sloan, chairman of
Quality Food Centers.
It is the second major expansion
this year for Fred Meyer after share
holders in September approved a$ 1.9
billion acquisition of Smith’s Food
<& Drug Centers Inc. of Salt Lake
City.
just three years ago, analysts were
speculating whether the company
could remain competitive following
an 88-day grocery workers' strike.
Miller, who was hired away from
rival Albertsons in 1991 to revive
Fred Meyer, oversaw a transition
back to a publicly traded company
after the New York buyout firm
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took it pri
vate in 1981, three years after the
death of founder Fred Meyer.
"Right after KKR sold their stake,
people said that was the beginning of
the end for Fred Meyer," said Laura
Richardson, who follows the com
pany for Pacific Crest Securities in
P ortland. “ But th e y ’ve show ed
they're a really smart management
team that knows how to run a grocery
chain and a retail chain."
Fred Meyer does not plan any
changes for its customers or QFC
customers, but it will wrap Q FC’s
Hughes Family Markets in Southern
California into the better known
Ralphs chain.
Fred Meyer will assume about S3
billion in debt, boosting its total to $5
billion, but Miller was confident the
combi ned chains will generate at least
$100 million a year in savings and
help it quickly pay down debt
Sloan added that the combined
stores will also have more buying
power, reducing costs by purchasing
in larger volumes, along with im
proved distribution
"The big story here is distribution
efficiency. T hat’sa t least 5 0 percent
til then cost savings." said Lisa Sroute
of Ragen McKenzie in Seattle.
The QFC deal is valued at $1.7
billion, and the Ralphs transaction at
$3.1 billion.
Under the QFC deal, valued at
$1.7 billion, each QFC shareholder
would receive the greater of I 9shares
of Fred Meyer stock or $55 worth of
Fred Meyer stock for each share ol
QFC stock, subject to a maximum
exchange ratio of 2.3 shares of Fred
Meyer stock.
On Friday, QFC stock closed at
$ 5 1.625, up 75 cents.
In a separate agreement. Fred
Meyer would exchange 22.5 million
shares of its stock for 100 percent ol
the equity of Ralphs' parent. Food 4
Less Holdings Inc., a private com
pany controlled by Ron Burkle. who
also is Fred Meyer chairman.
If the average Fred Meyer share
price is less than $26.67. the number
of shares issued to Food 4 Less would
be adjusted upward to a maximum of
24 million shares.
Miss
Collins
m eets
kids
A warm welcome from founder Evelyn Collins goes out during the fall
meeting for kids at the non-profit Grace Collins daycare and
preschool in northeast Portland.
(Photo by M. Washington)
Campaign For Renters' Rights
The Community Alliance of Ten
ants is holding a Renters' Rights
N eighborhood SpeakO ut on the
Westside of Portland as part of the
Campaign for Renters' Rights The
SpeakOut will be held Wednesday.
Novmeber 19th. 7:(X) PM at the Ver
mont Hills United Methodist Church
- SW 55th Dr and Iowa St Bus #1
Vermont
The SpeakOut isachance for area
renters to learn about Oregon' s Land
lord Tenant Law, tell their own sto
ries. and get involved with CA T's
Campaign for Renters' Rights There
will also be a Renters' Rights Clinic
-- staffed by volunteer lawyers and
CAT hotline staff - to answer spe
cific questions in a one on one atmo
sphere.
The Neighborhood SpeakOut is a
great opportunity to get involved with
the Renters' Rights Movement and
win real protections for renters from
abusive landlords Anyone interested
in Renters' rights and social justice
issues should attend.
This event is free and wheelchair
accessible. Free Childcare will be
provided if arranged in advance. For
more information or to register for
childcare, call the Community Alii
ance of Tenants at 460-9702
Oregon's Furse Help Diabetes Fight
The Honorable Elizabeth Furse,
was honored by the American Dia
betes Association. Oregon Affiliate,
during their Annual Gala Auction on
N ovem bers, 1997.
Because o f her efforts on behalf of
people with diabetes. Medicare will
reimburse for supplies for all pa
tients with diabetes, effective July 1.
1998. There will also be dramati
cally increased spending on diabetes
by the Department of Health and
Human Services. Grants totaling
over $150 million will be awarded
over five years toward research into
the prevention and cure of type I
diabetes. An additional $150 mil
lion in grants over five years will be
awarded for providing services for
the prevention and treatment of dia
betes among the Native American
population. Furse led the non-parti-
san effort to get this coverage in
cluded in the Balanced Budget Act,
which was signed by President
Clinton in August.
The American Diabetes Associa
tion, serving Oregon and SW W ash
ington, has renamed their diabetes
grant program in honor of Furse.
The program, now called the Eliza
beth Furse Diabetes Grant Program,
provides local funding for proposals
H O U S IN G
tlanfr
bseruer
Americorps And Habitat
Get Things Done
S leep in g in the k itch en floor
for three w eeks, 12 A m erico rp s
*N C C C m e m b e rs ris e e a c h
m orning w ith to o lb elts ready to
build hom es in N o rth e a st P o rt
land w ith H abitat for H u m an
ity. M otivated by th e ir te a m ’s
m otto "getting things do n e," the
18 to 2 4 -y ear-o ld s w ill keep
living in the H ab itat o ffic e s
w h ile w o rk in g on P o rtla n d
H abitat co n stru c tio n sites until
S aturd ay , N ovem ber 15. w hen
they co n tin u e th e ir H ab itat for
H um anity tour o f O regon.
A m e ric o rp s * N C C C ( N a
tio n a l C iv ilia n C o m m u n ity
C orps) is a 10-m onth re sid e n
tial national serv ice program
designed for young adults. R ep
resentin g one o f the five N CCC
cam pu ses, this team calls the
W estern R e g io n 's base hom e.
The team , along w ith 22 o th er
groups statio n ed in San D iego,
travels around the nine states
in clu d ed in the region p e rfo rm
ing various form s o f com m unity
serv ice. N CCC team s m odel their
serv ice after th eir m ission s ta te
m ent: get things done, strengthen
c o m m u n itie s, e n co u rag e re sp o n
sib ility , and ex pand o p p o rtunity.
T he m em bers o f this NCCC
team have already accom plished
a g reat deal in th e ir first week
w o rk in g w ith P o rtland H abitat:
they have roofed a w o m en ’s build
h o u se , re d e sig n e d the H abitat
w a re h o u se , and p re fa b ric a te d
w alls for a fo ur-hom e project.
F our o f the N CCC w om en helped
site su p erv iso r M elissa M edeiros
g et the roo fin g done on H a b ita t’s
W o m e n ’s B u ild . “ A m e ric o rp s
w om en ro c k !” said M edeiros.
“T h ey have been a d ed ic a te d ,
h a rd -w o rk in g , p o sitiv e , and e n
th u sia stic ad d itio n to our c o n
stru c tio n c re w .”
The team cu rren tly resid in g in
P o rtlan d has focused tw o m onths
o f its 10-m onth service
on w orking to m eet hu
man needs by helping
H a b ita t b u ild h o m e s
w ith low -incom e fa m i
lies w ho are trying to e s
tab lish perm anent re s i
dence in the N orth and
N o r th e a s t n e i g h b o r
hoods A bbie M itchell,
the leader o f the N CCC
team here in P o rtlan d ,
spoke o p tim istic a lly of
w orking w ith the H a b i
tat project. "W e 're very
ex cited to be a part of
H a b ita t’s m ovem ent to
help provide housing for
low -incom e fam ilies in
the P ortland area, it’s in
sp iratio n al to see how
m uch w ork can be a c
c o m p lis h e d on th e s e
houses in one day, even
m ore so w hen w orking
on them y o u rse lf.”
Mortgage Market Presents
Continuing Education Class
Class to cover Pro Techniques of Listing & Selling
M ortgage M arket Inc. w ill be
sentin g the In stitu te o f Real
ate S u c c e s s 's (IR E S ) "P ro
,’hniques o f L istin g & Sell-
” at 9 :0 0 AM to 5:0 0 PM on
vem ber 14 at the H om e B uild-
A s s o c ia tio n (H B A ). T h e
ss. led by Ken S chw arz o f
ES. will provide real estate
ikers and agents w ith 7 hours
b ro k e r c e rtifia b le re q u ire d
jrs - nearly h a lf o f the CE
jrs req u ired by O regon Law.
The class will p resen t ag en ts
h new for sale by o w n er and
nred listing tech n iq u es as well
as how to w ork a open house
su c c e ssfu lly and new farm ing
stra te g ie s. A d d itio n ally the class
w ill co v er te ch n iq u es on in flu
en c in g y our sphere of in fluence
for g reater sales and m arket p o
sitio n .
The class will be held at the
HBA located at I 5555 SW Bangy
R oad n ear the in te rse c tio n of
H ighw ay 2 17 and 1-5.
M ortgage M arket is an O regon
b a s e d f u ll- s e r v ic e m o rtg a g e
b an k er and b ro k er w ith m ultiple
lo catio n s in P ortland and branch
o f f i c e s in S a le m , E u g e n e ,
M edford, V an co u v er and
th ree S e a ttle area lo c a
tio n s. M o rtg a g e M ark et
sp e c ia liz e s in re sid e n tia l
m ortgages featu rin g low
clo sin g costs and fast tu rn
around. The com pany e m
ploys 94 m ortgage b a n k
ers and 56 sta ff e m p lo y
with a clear education or community
service orientation. Funding for this
year's grant program is made pos
sible through individual donations
and a grant from the Spirit Mountain
Community Fund.
The Spirit Mountain Community
Fund, established by the Confeder
ated Tribes o f the Grand Ronde Com
munity of Oregon and the Spirit
Mountain Casino, has approved a
grant of up to $50,000 in honor ol
Congresswoman Furse to match in
d iv id u a l d o n a tio n s.
K athryn
Harrison, Chair of the Grand Ronde
Tribal Council, made the notifica
tion of the grant monies during the
Auction.
The Spirit Mountain Community
Fund was created earlier this year
under an historic gaming compact
between the Confederated Tribes ol
the Grande Ronde community and
O regon's Governor, John Kitzhaber.
The Tribe annually contributes six
percent of its net profits from Spirit
Mountain Casino to the Spirit M oun
tain Community Fund to be used for
grants to community projects in I I
northwestern Oregon counties. The
estim ated amount for the Spirit
Mountain Community Fund in 1997
is $2 million.
Is Your Future
With Standard?
We need people with a wide range
o f skills and talents. I f you're
looking for an equal-opportunity
employer that offers great benefits
and competitive wages, take a look
at Standard Insurance Company.
Call our job hotline at 503-321-6736.
We're proud to be The Urban League o f Portlands
Employment Partner of the Year
for 1997
S tandard I nsurance C ompany
P e o p le . N o t j u s t p o lic ie s .®
A NEW DENTAL RESEARCH STUDY AT RUSSELL STREET CLINIC
ARE YOU HIV POSITIVE?
Do You Have Tooth Pain?
Do You Have These Symptoms?
Do you have a persistent tooth ache, interm ittent tfxith pain, or swelling in your m outh or face? Have
you been told your tooth needs a rtxit canal?
Participate In A New Free Research Study
You may qualify to participate in the O ral Health Enhancem ent Study being conducted by the
Russell Street Dental Clinic, a part of OHSU. Volunteers must be HIV positive, IS to 65 years of age
and have at least IS teeth.
Benefits
Participants w ill receive free root canal treatment, free CD4 counts and viral load blood tests, free
check-ups, and $ 125 for participation. Participants w ill also be helping to improve the quality of life
for people w ith HIV.
For more information, call:
(503) 494-6300
ees.
T he M ortgage M arket
c o rp o ra te o ffic e is located
at 6 C e n te r Point D rive,
Suite 300 in Lake O sw ego.
T h e ir p h o n e n u m b e r is
50 3 /9 6 8 -9 2 5 7 .
S C ItN C t*
Where Healing. Teaching and Discowy Come Together
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U- IVIHSU V
An mint opportunity, ulhflMltu i.tton insuiuunn.