BOISE, Idaho, and PLEASANTON, Calif. — AB Acquisition LLC (Albertsons) and Safeway Inc. have agreed to sell 168 stores to four buyers to resolve regulatory issues ahead of their planned merger.
The food and drug retailers said late Friday that they are divesting the stores "to secure Federal Trade Commission clearance” of the proposed merger. The supermarket chains’ merger, announced in March, is expected to close next month.
The four buyers are Associated Food Stores, which will purchase eight stores in Montana and Wyoming; Associated Wholesale Grocers/Minyard, which will purchase 12 stores in Texas; Supervalu Inc., which has agreed to purchase two stores in Washington; and Haggen Inc., which plans to purchase 146 stores across Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
The purchase agreements with the four buyers are all subject to approval by the FTC, according to a joint statement from Albertsons and Safeway.
"We’re pleased to have found strong buyers for these stores and to have completed this important step toward combining Albertsons and Safeway," Safeway president and chief executive officer Robert Edwards said in a statement. Edwards is expected to become president and CEO of the combined company. "We look forward now to the transaction’s close, so we can begin working together to enhance the loyalty of grocery shoppers."
Under the purchase agreements, the buyers will acquire the stores, equipment and inventory, and they intend to hire most, if not all, of the store employees upon the closing of the store purchases.
