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Grocery store giants Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. are planning to sell as many as 300 stores ahead of their planned merger, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the plans. The stores could command as much as $1B, and would be concentrated in regions where the two companies both have locations.
Kroger announced in October that it would acquire Albertsons for $24.6B, or about $34.10 per share. The two were already the largest two supermarket chains in the country, and combined they would operate nearly 5,000 stores nationwide.
The move to sell locations is apparently to allay antitrust concerns about the merger. In December, the Federal Trade Commission requested additional information from Kroger as part of the regulatory review process. The agency has not yet made a determination regarding the deal.
The prospect of the combination, done at a time of considerable food inflation and grocer consolidation in the United States, brought the ire of critics, including members of Congress, who said that it would make the problem worse for American consumers.
In a lawsuit filed early in February, 25 U.S. consumers argued the merger would allow the combined entity to control 36% of the U.S. grocery store industry by sales, which, it argued, would be deleterious to consumers.
"If Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons is consummated, the companies’ combined power will be used to increase prices for groceries, decrease the quality of food, eliminate jobs, close stores and offer less choice for consumers due to the overlap in geographic areas," the lawsuit states.
If the merger is allowed to continue, it will close in early 2024. No timetable for the divestiture of stores has been finalized.
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