According to a recent report by Reuters citing unnamed sources, Kroger and Albertsons are discussing plans to divest between 250 and 300 stores in order to satisfy antitrust concerns around their proposed merger. The potential store closings may span across all the regions where the companies operate and could generate more than $1 billion through their sale.
Kroger and Albertsons overlap in several markets in the Western U.S. and Chicago, but not as much in other Midwestern markets or in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Ahold Delhaize was cited as one of the potential buyers of the divested locations.
As part of the proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons previously said they expect to divest between 100 and 375 locations, and had proposed creating a new company to operate the divested stores.
There is strong opposition to the merger from a group of consumers who recently filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal and reverse the $4 billion special dividend payment that Albertsons paid to shareholders. And several states have pledged to continue to scrutinize the merger, which would be the largest in the history of the industry.