Tyler-based Brookshire Grocery Co. announced in an email to employees on Monday that it is no longer looking for a buyer to take over the 87-year-old company.

Brad Brookshire, chairman of the company and grandson of founder W.T. Brookshire, sent this email to the company's 14,000-plus employees on Monday (Nov. 23):

My fellow partners,

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided this morning to discontinue the sale process of our company. The company is no longer for sale and we can now focus on the things that matter most - our customers and partners. I personally want to thank each of you for sticking with us during these past few months of difficult uncertainty.

Entering this week of Thanksgiving, I am more than ever thankful for our company, our 14,000 employee partners and our loyal customers. I firmly believe Brookshire Grocery Company is a business with solidfoundation and enormous potential.

Most of all, as we come together to serve our customers this holiday week, I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.

All the best,

Brad Brookshire
Chairman of the Board

The company also released a formal statement on the decision, which read: "Brookshire Holdings, Inc., parent company of Brookshire Grocery Company, today announced that the process in which it has been engaged to explore a possible sale of the company has been terminated. The company will continue to provide a great food and shopping experience for its customers and will have no further comment on this matter."

News broke in October that Brookshire's was exploring a sale, with a number floating above $1 billion. Potential buyers included Albertson's and Texas-based HEB, though no front-runner or actual number was ever released.

Though Brookshire's is standing pat right now, that doesn't necessarily mean the process won't reopen down the road, one analyst told KLTV.

"Sometimes offers just aren't good enough and they can be revisited down the road you know perhaps in three months, six months, or a year we could be seeing all this happen again," Supermarket Research Consultant David Livingston told the TV station.

Tom Mullins, President and CEO of the Tyler Economic Development Council, told KLTV the company's decision means a positive impact here locally in East Texas.

"There are potentially hundreds of middle and upper management jobs that could have been negatively impacted if another grocery group had taken over Brookshire's because one of the things about takeovers is they consolidate," Mullins said

Brookshire's has more than 150 stores, including Super 1 Foods and Fresh By Brookshire's in Tyler. It started as a small grocery store on the downtown courthouse square in Tyler in 1928.

What do you think about Brookshire's decision? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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