Albertson's to Buy 877 Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaws, Star Market Stores from SUPERVALU

Albertson's LLC announced today that its parent company, AB Acquisition LLC, (“Albertson's”) has signed a definitive agreement under which it will acquire Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market stores and related Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies (collectively, the “Stores”) currently owned by Minneapolis-based SUPERVALU Inc. SVU. The transaction will consist of Albertson's acquisition of the stock of New Albertsons, Inc. (“NAI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SUPERVALU Inc., for $100 million in cash plus the assumption of approximately $3.2 billion in debt. Upon closing, Albertson's will own both NAI and Albertson's LLC. Bob Miller, CEO of Albertson's LLC, said of the acquisition, “We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire Acme, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw's and Star Market. We see great potential to improve operations, drive new energy and create a ‘winning attitude' with our store-level associates, and earn back our customers' trust and business.” Miller continued, “In 2006, we acquired a set of stores that lacked investment and were in tough shape, but with our great associates taking care of our customers every day we have grown into a solid regional supermarket chain with growing sales. I believe we can be successful again.” Following the acquisition, Albertson's and its subsidiaries will consist of 1,069 stores and 12 distribution centers, and employ approximately 110,000 associates. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and the completion of the fully underwritten debt financing at Albertson's LLC and NAI, which has been provided by a consortium of banks including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Barclays.