DAYVILLE, Conn., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Natural Foods,
Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI), today announced that its Board of Directors has
unanimously voted to amend the Company's stockholder rights plan, commonly
known as a poison pill, to accelerate the final expiration date of the
purchase rights issued thereunder. Under the terms of the amendment, the
purchase rights will now expire at the close of business on June 30, 2004,
rather than February 22, 2010, as initially provided under the stockholder
rights plan. The stockholder rights plan will be terminated upon the
expiration of the purchase rights, thereby eliminating the stockholder rights
plan altogether.
"Our decision to terminate the Company's stockholder rights plan further
demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the highest level of standards in
corporate governance. While the Company's stockholder rights plan was not
scheduled to expire for some time, we concluded that it no longer met the
Company's needs or those of its stockholders," said Steven H. Townsend, Chief
Executive Officer of United Natural Foods. "We continue to focus on
delivering quality and value to our customers and suppliers while maximizing
long-term results to our stockholders."
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 35,000 products to
more than 18,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of
retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product
superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel. For
more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's web-site
at http://www.unfi.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding the Company's business
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to general business
conditions, the impact of competition and our dependence on principal
customers, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 14, 2004, and its
other filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made.
The Company is not undertaking to update any information in the foregoing
reports until the effective date of its future reports required by applicable
laws.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
-0- 06/25/2004
/CONTACT: Rick D. Puckett, Chief Financial Officer, United Natural Foods,
Inc., +1-860-779-2800; Financial Relations Board, Joseph Calabrese, General
Information, +1-212-445-8434, for United Natural Foods, Inc./
/Web site: http://www.unfi.com /
(UNFI)