Ousted Market Basket CEO offers to buy the company

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Ousted Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas says he is trying to buy the supermarket chain as the standoff  between employees and new co-CEOS continues.

Employees were still out in full force at the Burlington Market Basket Thursday, signs and all. They are all asking for the return of the beloved former CEO, who has now offered to buy 50.5 percent of the company shares from relatives who forced him from power. His offer is very "full and fair" according to Demoulas.

One industry expert says the value of the entire company, which includes 71 stores throughout New England, is between $3 billion and $3.5 billion.

Dean Joyce, a former warehouse supervisor for the grocer, was fired over the weekend, and wishes Demoulas would buy the company as soon as possible. Joyce says the warehouse and newly hired truck drivers can't keep up with orders.

"I've seen three trucks go out of here so far. What's it 10 o'clock? I would have had 80 trucks out by now," he said.

But even the small amount of food that does leave may not arrive to local stores as workers say the new drivers failed to back into loading docks preventing the food from being unloaded. That food went bad and had to be thrown away by order of the Board of Health.

"They're gonna lose business," Joseph Petone of Woburn said.

Inside the stores what little is left is vanishing. There is barely, no chicken and the produce shelves are bare in the Danvers store.

"I was astonished, I really was surprised it was so empty," Betty Nichols of Danvers said.

She is now looking to shop elsewhere.

But employees like Joyce hope a board meeting set for Friday and Demoulas' offer to buy the supermarket chain will mean Market Basket can get back to business.

Cox Media Group