Client: Keith Uddenberg built an enviable reputation over the course of 60 years, growing a family grocery store in Gig Harbor into a company that included 24 stores with three different formats. By that time, Keith Uddenberg, Inc. (KUI) was the largest volume food chain in the Pacific Northwest.

Challenge: Identify a successor/owner with compatible merchandising formats and operating philosophy. The KUI chain was assembled through acquisition of independent operators resulting in a wide variety of locations and store layouts. Three newer "big box" stores had been built from the ground up with nearly identical footprints.

Process: Exvere advised that breaking up the retail formats for sale in more or less homogeneous groups would improve the overall valuation. While this resulted in separate marketing initiatives, it represented the best strategy for a successful conclusion.

Outcome: Stock Market Foods and Thriftway Stores were acquired by QFC (NASDAQ:QFC) in an asset purchase financed with QFC common stock. The "big box" stores were sold separately to private buyers. In the end, Keith Uddenberg and his family were well rewarded for their many years of hard work.