(Reuters) - Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP has agreed to acquire Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), a U.S. contract food sanitation company, for close to $1 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Leonard Green outbid other buyout firms in an auction run by PSSI’s owner, private equity firm Harvest Partners LP, the three sources said this week, asking not to be identified because the deal has not yet been officially announced.
Leonard Green and Harvest Partners declined to comment, while PSSI Chief Executive Officer Jeff Kaiser did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Based in Kieler, Wisconsin, PSSI provides sanitation for more than 450 food processing plants every day. It has 15,000 sanitation employees covering the United States and Canada, according to its website.
Harvest Partners acquired PSSI from investment firm Blue Point Capital Partners in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.
Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Soyoung Kim in Seoul; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
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