Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) CEO Bill DeLaney claims a proposed merger with US Foods would be "procompetitive", following a recent decision by a U.S. District Court to grant an injunction against the tie-up.

Sysco Corporation CEO Bill DeLaney

The U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia granted the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for an injunction to block the deal, claiming that preventing the deal was in the public interest.

"The FTC has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the proposed merger will substantially impair competition in the national customer and local broadline markets and that the equities weigh in favor of injunctive relief," U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in an order.

Delaney said the group would be able to provide additional clarity in a few days after closely reviewing the Court's ruling, and assessing its legal and contractual obligations in close collaboration with US Foods owners.

"While we respect the Court's decision, we are profoundly disappointed with this outcome," he said.

"We diligently pursued this transaction for nearly two years because we strongly believed the merger of Sysco and US Foods would be procompetitive and good for customers, associates and shareholders.

"Nevertheless, we certainly understood this outcome to be possible and have been developing plans for the business moving forward."

When the initial agreement to merge was announced in December 2013, the groups highlighted their combined EBITDA stood at US$826 million, along an enterprise value of US$8.2 billion and expected annual synergies of at least US$600 million.

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