By Maria Armental
Safeway Inc. and the owner of rival supermarket operator
Albertons have agreed to sell 168 stores in a bid to gain merger
approval from antitrust regulators.
The companies, which collectively own about 2,400 stores, said
they expect the buyers to hire "most, if not all" of the
workers.
AB Acquisition LLC agreed in March to buy Safeway for $9.4
billion, a deal that would significantly boost its size, setting it
up as a powerful rival to Kroger Co., the largest grocery chain in
the U.S.
Company officials have said they expect the deal, subject to
approval from the Federal Trade Commission, would close next
month.
Safeway's shares, slightly up in recent after-hours trading,
closed Friday at $34.77, up 19% for the year.
Annie Gasparro contributed to this article.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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