Sysco Corp., Houston, Texas, reached an agreement to purchase 50% of Mayca Distribuidores S.A of Costa Rica along with its three other affiliates for an undisclosed price. According to the terms of the agreement, Sysco will own one-half of the stock in privately held Mayca.

Mayca, which has been in business since 1995, is a leading food distributor across Costa Rica. In addition to its distribution business, Mayca has a retail cash-and-carry affiliate with seven locations, a cold storage company and a truck leasing company. At year-end 2013, Mayca had 405 employees, all of whom, including the management team, will remain in place at the closing of the transaction.

"This is a great day for the employees and customers of Mayca, as we become joint partners with Sysco, which is considered the global industry leader in foodservice distribution," says Jose Maroto, president and CEO of Mayca. "Most important, our customers will further benefit from the breadth of Sysco's product assortment, capabilities and years of professional expertise."

"We are excited to be partnering with the Mayca family of businesses, as they are well respected across Costa Rica for their focus on customer service and their success," says Kent Humphries, Sysco's senior vice president of international foodservice operations. "With this being our first strategic investment in Central America, we also will be looking to the Mayca leadership team to help Sysco better understand the marketplace. We believe that we can combine the strengths of Mayca and Sysco to better serve customers in the region, to grow the business and to provide value to our shareholders."