As Haggen looks to sell off its assets, Albertsons would like to reclaim some outposts Haggen was forced to unload.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
As Haggen looks to sell off its assets, Albertsons would like to reclaim some outposts Haggen was forced to unload.
Albertsons has placed a bid on 36 Haggen stores that are for sale as the company goes through bankruptcy.
If Albertsons (which now owns Safeway) is able to buy back stores the FTC ordered it to sell off, it would, according to the commission’s own report, create an anti-competitive market.
“Absent a remedy, this acquisition would likely lead to higher prices and lower quality for supermarket shoppers,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in January.
The FTC on Tuesday declined to comment on the bids, citing pending litigation. According to the commission’s Order to Maintain Assets, issued in January as part of the FTC’s oversight of the merger, Albertsons has to give the commission a 30-day notice if it plans any acquisition that could affect the divestiture. It’s unclear whether Albertsons will be breaking any FTC rules by buying back the stores.
(SOURCE: OregonLive.com)
Haggen stores in Happy Valley, Eugene and West Linn are for sale.
Shoppers failed to materialize at the newly branded Haggen stores, workers have been shed, and the Bellingham chain filed for bankruptcy protection in September.
Now a restructured Haggen hopes to shrink back to around 37 stores, according to the Bellingham Herald.
(SOURCE: Portland Business Journal)
The grocery chain could also could sell all of its outlets, according to a report on OregonLive.com.
RELATED NEWS: Seven more Haggen stores in Oregon to close; Union officials bemoan effect of Haggen’s bankruptcy on workers; Haggen files for bankruptcy; Haggen suing Albertsons for $1B
