Sysco locks in $16B-plus debt package to fund Restaurant Depot deal

Sysco is a global foodservice distributor using the proposed Restaurant Depot acquisition to expand into the higher-margin cash-and-carry channel, while pursuing efficiency and growth initiatives across its existing network. The company generated more than $84 billion in fiscal 2026 sales and has said the acquisition will be financed with a large mix of new debt, hybrid debt, equity and cash.

This filing turns the previously announced financing plan into a detailed capital structure. Sysco has underwritten $14.65 billion of U.S.-dollar notes, plus C$1.5 billion of Canadian-dollar notes and €1 billion of euro-denominated junior subordinated notes.

The financing is strategically expected, but the cost and duration are meaningful. Sysco had already disclosed that the Restaurant Depot transaction would require roughly $21 billion of new debt and hybrid debt, alongside cash and equity, so the direction of travel is not a surprise. What is newly concrete here is the rate stack: the junior subordinated securities carry coupons above 7%, and much of the debt runs into the 2050s and 2060s. That funds the deal but raises the financial burden the combined company must absorb.

The filing advances transaction certainty, not operating proof. The CAD offering is expected to close September 25, 2026, while the U.S.-dollar and euro offerings are expected to close October 6, 2026, each subject to customary conditions. The debt raises the resources needed for Restaurant Depot, but it does not yet demonstrate that the acquisition will deliver the planned synergies or improve returns after interest expense.

Bottom line: This is an important execution step for the Restaurant Depot acquisition, but not a fresh strategic surprise. It makes the deal more financeable while committing Sysco to a large, expensive and unusually long-dated debt load.