Sysco to buy London-based Brakes Group for $3.1 billion

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The deal, which is expected to immediately add to earnings, includes the repayment of about $2.3 billion of Brakes' debt, Sysco said in a statement.

The deal comes eight months after Sysco dropped its 18-month long pursuit of smaller rival US Foods after the Federal Trade Commission won a lawsuit to block the $3.5 billion deal.

Sysco had bid for Brakes in 2007, when Bain bought it for about 1.3 billion pounds ($1.83 billion), but walked away at an early stage.

Brakes, which was taken private by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc in 2002, put on hold its plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in January due to the global stock market decline, the Guardian had reported. (bit.ly/1WMIIT3)

Brakes Group, which started as a poultry supplier in 1958, has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.

It will operate as a standalone company within Sysco and will continue to be led by Chief Executive Ken McMeikan.

The combined company is expected to generate annualized sales of about $55 billion.

Sysco generated only $806.4 million, or 1.7 percent of its revenue, from outside the United States and Canada for the year ended June 2015. Brakes had revenue of nearly $5 billion in fiscal 2015.

The deal, subject to regulatory review by European Union competition authorities, is expected to be completed before the end of Sysco's fiscal year in July 2016.

Deutsche Bank Securities advised Sysco, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Ernst & Young LLP acted as legal and due diligence advisers.

Goldman Sachs International and Baker & McKenzie LLP acted as financial and legal advisers to Bain Capital Private Equity and Brakes Group.

Sysco's shares were down 1.5 percent at $44.30 in early trading on Monday.

($1 = 0.7104 pounds)

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)