$1.2B investment in food industry

Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management to pay $34.5 per share of Performance Food.

Performance Food said it will be combined with Vistar Corp., a foodservice distributor that Blackstone and Wellspring Capital already control.

Performance Food Group markets and distributes food to more than 41,000 hotels, cafeterias, schools, health care facilities and restaurants, including Cracker Barrel, TGI Friday's, Outback Steakhouse and Ruby Tuesday. The 7,000-employee company serves customers in all 50 states and in 41 countries.

Performance Food started in 1875 as a Richmond food brokerage that delivered canned fruits and vegetables to grocery stores and restaurants in the mid-Atlantic region. It took its current name in 1987.