Ares to Trim Stake in Smart & Final

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With shares of warehouse grocer Smart & Final Stores Inc. up more than 50 percent since the company’s initial public offering last year, the chain’s biggest shareholder is taking some of its chips off the table.

A Monday filing with the Security and Exchange Commission revealed that Smart & Final is selling 10 million shares in a secondary offering, with practically all of those shares coming from funds affiliated with Century City private equity and debt giant Ares Management. At $18.25 a share, the offering would raise more than $182 million. Underwriters also have the option to buy up to 1.5 million shares.

Ares, which bought the company in 2012 and took it public last June, will own about 64 million shares in Smart & Final after the offering. Assuming the underwriter option is exercised, Ares will own about 61 percent of the company, down from 75 percent at the time of the IPO. This sale will give the firm a 52 percent gain from the IPO price of $12 a share.

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