No changes planned for Albertson’s despite sale

Albertsons has a new owner, but for now the sale won’t affect any of the Las Vegas-area stores.

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based SuperValu has sold all of its Albertsons stores, including the 35 in Nevada, to AB Acquisition LLC in a deal valued at $3.3 billion, including $100 million in cash and $3.2 billion in debt assumption. AB Acquisition is privately owned by Cerberus Capital Management, Kimco Realty Corp., Klaff Realty, Lubert-Adler Partners and Schottenstein Stores Corp.

The deal Thursday, which netted AB Acquisition 877 stores, included SuperValu’s four other grocery chains: Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market.

After a few days under the new banner, it’s business as usual, said longtime Albertsons spokeswoman Lilia Rodriguez.

“Nothing really has changed,” she said.

Rodriguez noted that no store closures or employee layoffs are planned. Employees in division offices whose positions were eliminated were given a chance to go back to stores, so customers may notice an increase in employees at their local Albertsons. Fewer than 20 people were laid off locally.

Otherwise, Rodriguez said she couldn’t report any set-in-stone changes, although they are sure to happen.

“I’m sure there are changes coming down the way,” she said. “We’re looking forward to ... this new beginning.”

Even though the sale marks a new dawn for many of the stores, Albertsons is familiar territory for Cerberus Capital Management.

In 2006, a Cerberus-led group of investors purchased a stake in Albertsons that resulted in a split of the existing stores between SuperValu and Cerberus. Cerberus received about 650 stores. Of those, most were closed or sold, resulting in about 200 locations now called Albertsons Markets that are run by Albertsons LLC.

The sale of the remaining Albertsons stores Thursday came after SuperValu announced a 2,500-employee layoff for the chain in Nevada and California last June.

In September, the company announced closures of 60 underperforming Albertsons, ACME and Save-A-Lot stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

In November, SuperValu said it was instituting a pay freeze for its salaried and office employees, along with a reduced or eliminated 401(k) company match.

Sam Duncan, SuperValu president and chief executive officer, said in a statement Thursday: “The successful completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone for SuperValu and our shareholders, customers and employees.

“As we move forward, SuperValu will continue as one of the largest wholesale grocery providers in America serving nearly 2,000 independent retailers in 43 states.”

SuperValu now consists of three business units: Independent Business, a food wholesaler that serves nearly 2,000 U.S. stores; Save-A-Lot, a 1,300-store discount grocery chain; and SuperValu’s five regional retail banners: Cub, Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop ’n Save and Hornbacher’s.

Shares of SuperValu, which have risen steadily since the deal was announced, gained 10 cents, or 2.02 percent, to close Monday at $5.05.

Separately, another debt-ridden local chain is on the market.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, owned by Britain-based Tesco, is looking for a buyer or partner for the chain, which operates 200 stores in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.

Since the stores opened in the United States in 2008, Tesco has lost about $2 billion on Fresh & Easy.

In April, the company is set to release its full-year results, and industry watchers can expect an update on the chain’s status.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.