Saladino's was founded in Fresno in 1944 by Don Saladino, selling Italian sausages. Saladino's image

Illinois-based US Foods Holding Corp. announced Thursday an agreement to acquire Saladino’s Foodservice in Fresno, aiming to further expand its reach in Central California.

It is the second acquisition of the year for US Foods, traded on the New York Stock Exchange as USFD. In July it closed a cash deal for New York-based Renzi Foodservice for $142 million.

In a news release. US Foods officials said “tuck-in acquisitions” such as with Renzi Foodservice and Saladino’s will help drive shareholder value and support the company’s growth strategy.

So-called “tuck-in acquisitions” involve a larger company acquiring and completely integrating the smaller company into their operational platform.

“We look forward to bringing Saladino’s Foodservice’s operations to US Foods to further enable future growth and service to customers across the central California region,” said US Foods CEO Dave Flitman. “Saladino’s has a strong reputation for bringing value to their customers and we look forward to welcoming the highly experienced Saladino’s team to US Foods at close.”

Saladino’s has operated since 1944, distributing food throughout Central California. Craig Saladino, son of founder Don Saladino, currently serves as the company’s president.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be joining forces with US Foods — a decision that supports our growth as a company and presents a promising future not only for Saladino’s, but for our more than 500 employees and growing number of valued customers,” Craig Saladino said.

Saladino’s has more than $600 million in annual revenue and 4,0000-plus customers across California.

US Foods also released its third quarter earnings on Thursday, reporting net sales of $9.1 billion. For the nine month fiscal 2023 period, net sales were $26.7 billion.

US Foods has 70 distribution locations across the country, with 29,000 employees serving about 250,000 restaurants and foodservice operators.

The deal is expected to close in December. Agreement terms were not disclosed.