Kroger and Albertsons on Tuesday revealed the specific locations of the 579 stores they plan to sell off in their contested $25 billion merger.
Besides what states would be most affected, the list also reveals many of the stores (485 of them) being sold off are from Albertsons, not Kroger.
The divestitures of the stores plus other facilities, such as distribution centers, is intended to mollify federal and state regulators, many of which are suing to permanently block the transaction. Under the proposal, the stores would be sold to New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, an independent operator to maintain competition.
Antitrust regulator The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in February to kill Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons, claiming the deal would hurt supermarket competition for shoppers and workers and ultimately lead to higher grocery prices that would hurt consumers and depressed wages that would hit employees.
Kroger and Albertsons have insisted the divestiture deal, which they expanded in April, would prevent supermarket jobs from being lost and preserve vigorous competition – a claim regulators and several grocery unions have expressed skepticism.
“You’ll see that the 579 stores and other assets to be divested were thoughtfully chosen to allow C&S to succeed in the geographies and maintain – if not increase – the level of competition that consumers benefit from,” Kroger said Tuesday in a statement.
Where grocery stores will be sold
The five states with the most stores to be divested:
-
Washington with 124
-
Arizona with 101
-
Colorado with 91
-
California with 63
-
Oregon with 62
Other states with stores to be divested are: Illinois (35); Texas (28); Idaho (10); Alaska (18); Nevada (16); Idaho (10); New Mexico (9); Wyoming (5); Maryland (4); Utah (4); Virginia (3); Louisiana (2); Montana (2); Delaware (1); and District of Columbia (1).
Which Kroger stores will be sold?
Among the 94 Kroger stores to be sold are: 54 Quality Food Centers in Washington and Oregon; 31 Marianos in Illinois; 9 Harris Teeter in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Which Albertson’s stores will be sold?
Among the Albertsons stores to be sold are: 283 Safeways (in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington); 99 Albertsons (in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming); 34 Vons in California and Nevada; 16 Pavilions in California; 15 Tom Thumb in Texas; 13 Haggen in Washington; 11 Carrs in Alaska; 6 Market Street in Texas; 4 Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2 Randalls in Texas; and 2 Lucky in Utah.
Unions: Stop the Kroger Albertson’s ‘mega-merger’
In a joint statement, several chapters of the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, Locals UFCW 7, UFCW 324, UFCW 400, UFCW 770 and UFCW 3000, representing thousands of Kroger and Albertsons workers in California, Colorado, Maryland and Washington, voiced their continued opposition to the merger.
“We remain focused on stopping the proposed mega-merger for the same reasons we have stated since it was first announced over 20 months ago — because we know it would harm workers, it would harm shoppers, it would harm suppliers and communities, and it is illegal,” the unions said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kroger and Albertsons reveal stores to be sold amid $25B merger
Source Agencies
