After announcing on July 12 that the $29 billion merger of Ahold and Delhaize is expected to close at the end of July, both retailers announced the next day that they have sold 86 stores as part of their Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandated effort to part with overlapping U.S. stores before both companies can complete the larger combining of forces.
The list of stores sold includes purchases by seven retailers and sources tell us that additional locations were ultimately sold that were not on the original divestiture list (see the list of all stores sold and which retailers acquired them below). All purchase agreements are subject to FTC approval.
The big winner among all bidders was Weis Markets, which will acquire 38 Food Lion stores in
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. In addition to six Food Lion stores it is acquiring in the in the Baltimore area where the Sunbury, PA-based regional chain already operates 16 supermarkets (and will add five recently acquired Mars units to its roster next month), Weis will be expanding into new markets in southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore and suburban Washington extending as far south as Fredericksburg and Culpeper, VA. Sources tell us that Weis plans to take possession of those 38 stores beginning in September and will phase all stores into the retailer’s operations over a period of several months.
As expected, Publix won the bidding derby in the Richmond market, acquiring 10 of the 20 Martin’s stores in the highly competitive Central Virginia area, including Williamsburg. Publix had earlier announced it plans to enter the Richmond market in 2018. Martin’s will continue to operate the 10 unsold stores with the caveat that the units will remain on the sales block. Sources tell us that when Publix takes possession of the 10 stores it has acquired (expected within 180-360 days from the merger completion), it expected to perform major remodelings at all 10 stores.
Additional winning bidders included Supervalu with 22 stores, all of them in western Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Multiple sources have told us that most, if not all, of those stores will be operated by industry veterans Bill Shaner (former CEO of Save-A-Lot) and Tom Jamieson, who owns 10 Shop ‘n Save independent stores and nine Save-A-Lot discount units in the Pittsburgh and Ohio markets.
Other retailers that have acquired stores in the bidding process include: Springfield, MA based Big Y, which acquired eight Hannaford units in the Greater Boston area; Williamsville, NY based Tops Markets, which will be entering new territory with the acquisition of five Stop & Shop stores in the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York and another S&S unit in Gardner, MA; and independent operator Saubel’s, based in Shrewsbury, PA, which will acquire the Food Lion store in York, PA. Additionally, Acme Markets, a unit of Albertsons, acquired the Giant/Landover store in Salisbury, MD. That store will remain unionized. Eight other unionized Giant/Landover stores (six in the Fredericksburg, VA area, one in Accokeek, MD and another in LaPlata, MD), which were on the original divestiture list, remain unsold.
The 86 sold stores represent 4.1 percent of the Ahold and Delhaize companies’ total combined U.S. store count and 3.2 percent of Ahold and Delhaize companies’ combined U.S. 2015 net sales.
With the store divestitures in the U.S. completed, Ahold and Delhaize can now proceed with their primary objective – the consummation of their merger which was initially announced on June 24, 2015 (Ahold will control 62 percent of the new company’s equity).
Once the deal has been finalized, the combined organization will operate more than 2,000 U.S stores and have combined annual U.S. sales exceeding $43 billion. Internationally, the merger would create an organization that will operate about 6,500 stores with annual revenue of approximately $70 billion.
On July 12, Ahold released more details of a $902 million capital repayment and reverse stock split that are part of the agreement. The capital repayment, valued at 1 billion euros, and reverse stock split would take place after close of New York Stock Exchange trading hours on July 15 by way of a consolidation of every 17 issued Ahold common shares into 16 common shares and a capital repayment of 1.29 euros per remaining share, equivalent to about 1.21 euros per old share.
Ahold CEO Dick Boer said: “The combination of Ahold and Delhaize Group is a unique opportunity to deliver even more for customers, associates and local communities. Together, Ahold and Delhaize Group have been working hard to resolve the competition concerns raised by the FTC, and we are pleased to have found strong, well established buyers for the stores we are required to divest. We deeply appreciate the long-time support of our customers and associates in these locations and are confident that the new owners will continue to serve local communities well.”
“Selling stores is a difficult part of any merger process, given the impact on our associates,
customers and communities in which we operate,” said Frans Muller, president CEO, Delhaize Group. “We believe we have made every effort to identify strong buyers for these locations, and we want to thank our loyal associates and customers who have shopped our stores and supported us for so many years. Upon the completion of the merger, we will continue to maintain our local Food Lion and Hannaford brands; however, our new company scale will enable us to accelerate our local market strategies to better serve our customers with nearly 2,000 stores along the East Coast in the United States.”
Weis Acquires 38 Food Lion Stores:
- 17232 Village Main Blvd Lewes, DE
- 24832 John Williams Hwy Millsboro, DE
- 36731 Old Mill Rd. Millville, DE
- 9287 Miller Rd Rehoboth Beach, DE
- 15789 Livingston Rd. Accokeek, MD
- 5896 Robert Oliver Place Columbia, MD
- 45315 Alton Lane California, MD
- 20995 Point Lookout Callaway, MD
- 15300 McMullen Hwy., SW Cumberland, MD
- 219 Marlboro Ave. Easton, MD
- 3261 Solomons Island Rd. Edgewater, MD
- 6551 Waterloo Rd. Elkridge, MD
- 6375 Monroe Ave Eldersburg, MD
- 17600 Old National Sq. Pike Frostburg, MD
- 16567 S. Frederick Rd Gaithersburg, MD
- 883 Russell Ave Gaithersburg, MD
- 100 Drury Dr LaPlata, MD
- 9 St Mary’s Sq. Lexington Park, MD
- 210 Harry Truman Rd Lusby, MD
- 12100 Central Ave Mitchellville, MD
- 9251 Lakeside Blvd. Owings Mills, MD
- 750 Pr Frederick Blvd Prince Frederick, MD
- 10 Village Center Rd. Reisterstown, MD
- 5715 Crain Hwy Upper Marlboro, MD
- 13300 Harry Truman Rd. Solomons, MD
- 5 Meadowbrook SC Culpeper, VA
- 540 Culpeper Town Mall Culpeper, VA
- 10611 Courthouse Rd. Fredericksburg, VA
- 4453 Plank Rd. Fredericksburg, VA
- 515 Jeff Davis Hwy Fredericksburg, VA
- 7361 Warrenton Rd. Fredericksburg, VA
- 7100 Salem Fields Blvd Frederickburg, VA
- 10871 Tidewater Trail Fredericksburg, VA
- 282 Deacon Rd. Fredericksburg, VA
- 10601 Spotsylvania Ave. Fredericksburg, VA
- 9801 Courthouse Rd. Spotsylvania, VA
- 905 Garrisonville Rd. Stafford, VA
- 2211 Jeff Davis Hwy Stafford, VA
Supervalu Acquires 22 Food Lion Stores:
- 8360 College Rd. Hagerstown, MD
- 18717 North Pointe Dr. Hagerstown, MD
- 17718 Virginia Ave. Hagerstown, MD
- 761 E. Wilson Blvd Hagerstown, MD
- 22401 Jefferson Blvd. Smithsburg, MD
- 875 Lincoln Way West Chambersburg, PA
- 4170 Philadelphia Ave. Chambersburg, PA
- 500 N Antrim Way Greencastle, PA
- 11105 Buchanan Trail Waynesboro, PA
- 409 N. McNeill Rd. Berryville, VA
- 260 Remount Rd. Front Royal, VA
- 609 E. Main St. Purcellville, VA
- 380 Fairfax Pike Stephens City, VA
- 707 Fort Collier Rd Winchester, VA
- 2600 Valley Ave. Winchester, VA
- 249 Sunnyside Plaza Circle Winchester, VA
- 190 Delco Plaza Winchester, VA
- 159 Grocery Ave Winchester, VA
- 1317 Old Courthouse Sq Martinsburg, WV
- 11400 Winchester Ave. Martinsburg, WV
- 50 Coast Guard Dr. Kearneysville, WV
- 147 Roaring Lion Dr. Hedgesville, WV
Publix Acquires 10 Martin’s Stores:
- 3107 Boulevard #15 Colonial Heights, VA
- 40150 Brooke Rd Glen Allen, VA
- 9645 W. Broad Glen Allen, VA
- 10250 Staple Mill Rd Glen Allen, VA
- 13700 Hull Street Rd. Midlothian, VA
- 1522 West Cary St. Richmond, VA
- 3460 Pump Rd Richmond, VA
- 2250 John Rolfe Pkwy Richmond, VA
- 7055 Three Chopt Richmond, VA
- 4591 South Laburnum Ave Richmond, VA
Big Y Acquires 8 Hannaford Stores
- 25 Robert Dr. Easton, MA
- 182 Summer St. Kingston, MA
- Medway Rd. Milford, MA
- 475 Hancock St. North Quincy, MA
- 10 Washington St. Norwell, MA
- 434 Walpole St. Norwood, MA
- 57 Broadway Saugus, MA
- 2 Timpany Blvd. Gardner, MA
Tops Markets Acquires 6 Stop & Shop Stores:
- 1936 U.S. Route 6 Carmel , NY
- 16 John J. Wagner Way Lagrange, NY
- 271 Main St. New Paltz, NY
- 1357 US Highway 9 Wappingers Falls, NY
- 6726 Route 9 Rhinebeck, NY
- 384 Timpany Blvd. Gardner, MA
Independent Operator Saubel’s Acquires 1 Food Lion Store:
- 3611 E. Market St. York, PA
Albertsons (Acme Markets) Acquires 1 Giant/Landover Store:
- 751 S. Salisbury Blvd. Salisbury, MD
