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Alex Campbell, founder of Thrifty Foods, says the $260-million sale of his company to Sobeys was "the right fit."

The sale of Thrifty, Vancouver Island's largest private-sector employer, was announced in Victoria Monday morning.

Campbell, who founded Thrifty in 1977, said his company and Sobeys, Canada's second largest supermarket chain, share common values.

"They are a family company celebrating 100 years in business, and we have similar operating styles," Campbell said in an interview Monday.

He said he expects the transition to new owners to be seamless. Sobey's has said it intends to allow the Thrifty group of 20 stores to operate as a stand-alone subsidiary.

Thrifty, Western Canada's largest independent grocery chain, has 3,700 employees in stores throughout Vancouver Island and on the Lower Mainland.

"We have come to the realization that if we want to continue as the market leader, then we must commit to a new era of growth," Campbell said in a press release about the sale. "I am very pleased to find, in Sobeys a company that is committed to the long-term growth and success of Thrifty Foods."

Nova Scotia-based Sobeys owns or franchises 1,300 stores in all 10 provinces under such names as Sobeys, IGA, Foodland and Price Chopper.