Jewel-Osco Parent Company Agrees To Buy Safeway In $9 Billion Deal

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Mar 7, 2014 5:10PM

Here’s more dirt to shovel on the grave of Dominick’s Finer Foods. Albertson’s, the parent company of Jewel-Osco, agreed to purchase Safeway in a $9 billion deal Thursday afternoon, two months after Safeway closed Dominick’s supermarkets across the Chicago area.

Albertson’s CEO Bob Miller said in a statement, “This transaction offers us the opportunity to better serve customers by adapting more quickly to evolving shopping preferences in diverse regions across the country. Together, we will be able to respond to local needs more quickly and deliver outstanding products at the lowest possible price, more efficiently than ever before.”

Safeway CEO Robert Edwards said, “Safeway has been focused on better meeting shoppers’ diverse needs through local, relevant assortment, an improved price/value proposition and a great shopping experience that has driven improved sales trends. We are excited about continuing this momentum as a combined organization.”

The proposed merger doesn’t come soon enough to save the shuttering of 72 area Dominick’s which Safeway mismanaged into the annals of Chicago’s past. The news also comes on the heels of Jewel-Osco naming Shane Sampson as its new president and the purchase of five more shuttered Dominick’s locations.

Albertson’s is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, an private equity firm specializing in purchasing distressed investments. In addition to Jewel-Osco Albertson’s also owns the Acme, Albertsons, Shaw’s and Star Market chains. If the deal is approved, Safeway shareholders will earn $40 per share, including $32.50 in cash. But Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, is still considering an offer to buy Safeway.