St. Louis-based grocery company Schnucks has purchased the Wisconsin chain Skogen’s Festival Foods, which has 42 locations around the state including a new one in Hudson.

Skogen’s Festival Foods stores are unrelated to the Festival Foods-branded grocery stores around the Twin Cities.

The acquisition, which is expected to be completed in October following regulatory approval, also includes nine local stores run by Hometown Grocers, many of which are in smaller cities around northwestern Wisconsin.

Despite the new ownership, store names are not expected to change, per a statement from Schnuck Markets.

Additionally, Festival Foods’ in-store generic brands will continue to be distributed by United Natural Foods Inc., and will not be converted to Schnucks private-label branding, a Schnucks spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Rhode Island-based UNFI took over local company Supervalu, Festival Foods’ previous longtime supplier, in 2018.

In recent years, Schnucks has acquired other local grocers, including Shop ‘n Save in Missouri and Illinois, Fricks Market in Missouri and Logli Supermarkets and Hilander Foods in Illinois, all of which were eventually rebranded as Schnucks. However, unlike in each of those cases, Skogen’s Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers will both continue to operate effectively as separate companies and retain their own existing Wisconsin headquarters in Onalaska and Green Bay; both companies and Schnucks will operate under the umbrella of a newly formed parent company called 1939 Group.

The acquisition also does not impact employment or payroll, which will continue to be handled locally, the spokesperson said.

Financial details about the deal were not announced.

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Paul Skogen opened his namesake grocery store in Onalaska in 1946, and the family began operating under the Festival Foods banner in 1990. Third-generation owner Mark Skogen took over as CEO in 2006; that role will now be held by Schnuck Markets chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck.

Apart from the Hudson location of Skogen’s Festival Foods, which opened in October, the other nearest locations are in and around La Crosse and Eau Claire. The Hometown Grocers-owned stores impacted by the sale include Dave’s County Market in Merrill, Wis., Denny’s Supervalu in Algoma, Wis., Don’s Quality Market in Seymour, Wis., Lake Mills Market in Lake Mills, Wis., Lakewood Supervalu in Lakewood, Wis., Super Ron’s Food Center in Pulaski, Wis., Thompson’s County Market in Oconto, Wis., Thorp Supervalu in Thorp, Wis. and Wittenberg Sentry Foods in Wittenberg, Wis.

“It’s been a privilege to serve Wisconsin communities and continue the legacy my grandparents began in 1946,” Mark Skogen said in a statement Tuesday.