Albertsons’ takeover of Safeway moved a step closer this week when no other potential buyer emerged before the 27 March deadline. The US$9.4bn deal announced four weeks ago by Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns Albertsons, would bring together America’s second biggest supermarket chain (Safeway) and its fifth biggest.
The deal still has to be agreed by shareholders and receive approval from the Federal Trade Commission, which will determine whether the merger can proceed and how many stores Cerberus will need to sell in order to meet federal antitrust rules.
Analysts say some stores will almost certainly have to close in California, where both chains have a total of 678 stores – roughly three times more than in its next biggest market.
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