Qfc To Purchase Uddenberg Stores

BELLEVUE - Quality Food Centers is buying 25 stores from Keith Uddenberg Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $65 million, the two supermarket chains announced.

The stores being bought include 21 Stock Markets and four Thriftways in the west and south portions of the Puget Sound area, including Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

The transaction, announced yesterday, is expected to be completed in early 1997.

QFC will analyze the stores, customer base and markets before deciding which ones to convert to QFCs.

QFC chief Christopher Sinclair said the deal is "just the beginning" of QFC's new expansion plan.

"QFC continues to aggressively seek out contiguous and new market acquisitions as well," Sinclair said.

Bellevue-based QFC operates 64 stores in the Puget Sound area and employs more than 4,400 people.

Keith Uddenberg, based in Gig Harbor, operates 26 stores in western and southern Puget Sound and employs more than 2,000 people. The company will retain its interest in the Gig Harbor Thriftway store and its businesses in the Gig Harbor area.