Kroger, Albertsons to sell off Carrs, Safeway to clear path for merger

By
Suzanne Downing
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21
2823

Kroger and Albertsons said Friday they will sell 413 stores, including Carrs and Safeway, along with other assets for about $1.9 billion.

This sell-off of assets would create more certainty for completing a merger that is opposed by major labor unions and Rep. Mary Peltola, who is in lockstep with the AFL-CIO.

The 413 stores will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers in a move that was clearly anticipated by the companies involved, even before the unions began vocally opposing the merger.

Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer, will also sell several of its other entities and private label brands. C&S will get eight distribution centers and two offices.

All fueling stations and pharmacies associated with the divested stores will stay with them as they are shed from the Kroger/Albertsons alliance.

Kroger offered $20 billion to buy Albertsons, and take on about $4.7 billion of Albertson’s debt. The deal is expected to close early next year, if the Federal Trade Commission does not cave into the unions trying to prevent the merger.

Peltola and AFL-CIO warn FTC against merger of Fred Meyer and Safeway

21 COMMENTS

  1. The unions have very little to do with this proposed merger. By a huge margin, those who are against this proposed private equity sellout/merger are much more concerned with keeping competition in tact, by limiting monopoly influences. I can guarantee you there are millions more average everyday grocery shoppers who vote both D & R, that are against this proposed merger, than there are Kroger/Albertson’s union members. Being against monopolistic practices is not a partisan or union thing.

    • I’d care less about the monopolistic arguments if they didn’t coerce their employees into being Gay Pride billboards.

      Anything that can be done to damage Kroger’s bottom line by government should be done. Not interested in handing out cookies to sick corporate entities spreading their pedo-friendly messaging up here.

      “Pederast? Nein, danke!”

  3. Adam Smith’s book ”The Wealth of Nations” reveals that in the business world, monopolies have to be constantly broken up to balance out economies and the free market.
    Summarize; The grocer mergers should not be allowed.

  4. I disagree with this article’s tone (and the proposed merger). Just because Peltola and the AFL-CIO have a position on something doesn’t automatically make it bad; even a broken clock is right twice a day. In addition to being opposed by Peltola and the AFL-CIO, I would suspect that the majority of Alaskans who buy groceries on a regular basis (perhaps even the majority of this site’s readers) would be against it as well. Let’s celebrate finding some common ground.

  6. Oh just let a merger take place with peace. It’ll either make all pay more or it’ll actually be good to have a the merger giving more power into business leaders and weaken unions for a change if all those grocery locations closed. Obviously Kroger-Safeway not worried. I bet the new company will but it all back. I tell you one thing it’s good to see SeenthisBefore and third generation talking less mocking, means even for a leftist Democrat their worried. Haha. Our stupid liberal ideas set up the way leaders are today.

  7. FredMeyer has really gone down hill in West Fairbanks . Not sure why or what’s going on . Does this mean SafeWay is closing or getting spun off to new owner ? Article is not clear on what’s happening ?

    • The West Fred’s is Kroger’s largest dollar volume store… Yet they chose to ruin it further by doing a major store reset prior to the merger announcement. If I can’t find what I’m there for, I go elsewhere. Take away competition by merging with Safeway, and we all lose.

  9. This will be bad for consumers and raise grocery prices. When it comes to culture wars economics do not matter to the morons

  10. This should open up more space for additional government offices. Or maybe free housing for the addicts. Our new growth industries.

  11. people cheered Ronnie when he fired the air traffic controllers, laughed when unions were busted in autos and steel. laughed at Micheal Moore for pointing out the destruction of the middle class.

    tax code changes from ’82 and ’84 taxed social security for the first time while “guaranteeing the health and safety forever”. sadly the promises where hollow and cheap.

    you voted for charlatans and got grifted, rubes and hicks always do. Capital always wins over labor. you declare bankruptcy and are ruined, they file chapter 11, get government bailouts, donate dark money to SCOTUS.

    sadly u may have read Atlas Shrugged but Alan slept with Rand, we got screwed folks. thanks but feel sorry for your kids

    • Air traffic controllers were fired because they took an oath to not strike when they hired on and they violated that oath. I know because I also took that oath. And I had just gotten out of the Marine Corps when I hired on with the FAA, so that oath meant something to me. I also remember the union goons from PATCO bragging how we were going to bring the country to its knees to get what was demanded by the union. And how every PATCO member who crossed the union line was going to wear a millstone around their neck when the strike was settled. I refused to strike and I proudly crossed that union line, and in the end, it was the strikers who had violated their oath that were the ones on the outs. I fully applaud President Reagan’s action to fire all striking union members.

  13. It gets worse. Things are moving pretty quickly. Apparently there is a Chinese connected offer to purchase the Kroger / Albertson’s piece, which would give China access to the personal data from one of the largest drug store chains in the nation. Sleep well. Cheers –

    • Well they need to practice what they preach. China claims of cleanliness is least desired, with their pollution levels, there in their homeland. China already has access to global customers. Since I was a kid. Made in China. They already know. No need to be sneaky about it. Shrug-

  14. Carrs/Safeway/Albertson’s has what: maybe a dozen stores in Alaska? Does anybody really think that these corporations care about Alaska when 413 stores are involved nationwide?

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