Food/drug retailer eyes public offering after closing Safeway deal

BOISE, Idaho – Food and drug retailer Albertsons Cos. is looking to go public.

The company on Wednesday said that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of common stock. The number of shares to be offered, their price range and the date of the offering haven’t yet been determined.

In the filing, Albertsons said it aims to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay debt and for general corporate purposes.

Owned by an investor group led by New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, Albertsons operates 2,205 supermarkets, 1,698 pharmacies and 378 fuel centers in 33 states and the District of Columbia under 18 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market and Carrs. In the IPO filing, the company said that, on a pro forma basis, it would have generated net sales of $57.5 billion.

Albertsons completed its acquisition of Safeway Inc. at the end of January. Last December, Albertsons agreed to divest 168 stores to gain regulatory approval for the acquisition. The $9 billion-plus deal was unveiled in March 2014.

The merged company consists of three regions and 14 retail divisions, supported by corporate offices in Boise; Pleasanton, Calif.; and Phoenix.