Westrock Coffee entered into an agreement yesterday to acquire North Carolina-based S&D Coffee & Tea, the company entered into an agreement yesterday to acquire North Carolina-based, the company announced in a press release

The $405 million transaction is expected to close in the next several weeks.

Westrock Coffee, headquartered in North Little Rock and co-founded by Scott Ford, the former CEO of Alltel Corp, serves retail, restaurants, convenience stores, and hospitality industries — including Walmart, Sam’s Club, and CVS.

S&D Coffee & Tea is the largest coffee and tea manufacturer and supplier to restaurants and convenience stores in America — including Chick-fil-A, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Circle K.

The combined company will employ approximately 1,700 people globally and roast, grind, and

package more than 220 million pounds of coffee annually.

The companies will continue to serve customers under their current brand names. Westrock Coffee will remain headquartered in Arkansas; its recently expanded roasting and packaging plant in North Little Rock is slated for yet more expansion. According to the press released, the S&D organization in Concord, North Carolina, likewise “will continue as a major center of operations with plans to continue expansion of these facilities.”

“This strategic combination will create the nation’s premier coffee, tea, and extract supplier that

is capable of serving the most complex and demanding customers across the country and

around the world,” Ford said in a prepared statement. “We intend to use the scale of the new company to offer the most innovative beverage solutions with competitive pricing to our global clients while simultaneously providing a premium price to our farmer partners at origin. Our unmatched commitment to customer service, product quality, and our industry-leading sustainability and transparent sourcing practices will remain a cornerstone of our business. Our combined organization will seek to lead the industry with our sustainability program and to accelerate the development of a broadening array of innovative products.”