PHOENIX — Kroger Co., the parent company of Fry's Food Stores and Smiths Food and Drug in Arizona, has received a high level of interest in stores it will have to sell as part of its planned $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons Cos., its CEO said Thursday.
Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, will almost certainly have to sell more than 100 stores if and when it completes its planned acquisition of Albertsons due to antitrust concerns. It’s already making progress toward that sale, CEO Rodney McMullen said Thursday during a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
“(We are) working to identify potential buyers for the stores we expect to divest to obtain clearance for the transaction,” McMullen said. “We are pleased with the level of interest received thus far and will work towards finding a solution that benefits all stakeholders.”
Kroger initially said after the Albertsons deal was finalized Oct. 13, 2022, it expected to sell somewhere between 100 and 375 stores. Last month, Reuters reported that range has been narrowed to between 250 and 300 stores as Kroger works with regulators. Many of those stores are expected to be in the Phoenix metro, where there is a high level of overlap between Fry's and Albertsons-owned Safeway stores.
