Big spender Brakes has hit the acquisition trail for the second time this year by buying Swedish wholesaler Menigo.
It has agreed to buy a majority stake in the business, which turns over about £450m (SEK5bn) and delivers to foodservice operators and c-stores.
The deal is subject to approval by the EU Competition Authority, which is expected to reach a decision in the next couple of months.
"We are delighted to expand Brakes' geographical reach to Sweden through our investment in Menigo," said Ian Goldsmith, chief operating officer. "We believe we will be able to contribute with our extensive experience and advantages of scale to develop the business going forward together with Menigo's management. We will expect to significantly enhance Menigo's growth."
The latest acquisition would provide an "international platform for current and future expansion", he added, hinting that Brakes would look to purchase other foreign businesses.
Menigo CEO Fredrik Gren added: "The organisation and structure we have built and strengthened over past years will remain intact, but we will also have access to great business experience, new products and international customer relations. We can also continue to expand our range of locally produced products and, in addition, help to bring Swedish food products to Europe."
Menigo is the fifth business bought by Brakes in the past two years. In 2008, it purchased French foodservice provider Rault, frozen specialist Woodward Foodservice and O'Kane Food Service in Ireland, and UK chilled specialist FreshFayre this January.
Brakes, which has a group turnover of £2.2bn, is owned by US private equity giant Bain Capital.
"It's very interesting it keeps on finding money for acquisitions despite having net debt of £1.5bn," said one rival foodservice boss. "It may be owned by Bain, which is a real giant, but Bain won't be putting in all the cash. It must be borrowing from somewhere."