Two Vons grocery store locations in the Santa Clarita Valley are set to be sold by Safeway Inc. to the Pacific Northwest grocery chain Haggen pending approval by the Federal Trade Commission, officials announced Saturday.
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Located on Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus and McBean Parkway in Santa Clarita, the stores are scheduled to be converted to Haggen stores in 2015, along with 144 other Albertsons, Vons and Safeway stores across five states.
“With this pivotal acquisition, we will have the opportunity to introduce many more customers to the Haggen experience,” said John Caple, chairman of the Hagen board of directors. “Our Pacific Northwest grocery store chain has been committed to local sourcing, investing in the communities we serve and providing genuine service and homemade quality since it was founded in 1933.”
The sale is part of the divestment process brought about by the FTC’s review of the proposed merger between AB Acquisition LLC (Albertsons) and Safeway Inc., which is expected to close in January 2015, according to officials.
Related: Albertsons To Close Two Locations In Valencia, Canyon Country
AB Acquisition LLC and Safeway Inc. have entered into agreements to sell a total of 168 stores across eight states to four buyers in order to secure FTC clearance of the merger.
“We’re pleased to have found strong buyers for these stores and to have completed this important step toward combining Albertsons and Safeway,” said Safeway President and CEO Robert Edwards.
While the buyers are set to acquire the stores, equipment and inventory, they intend to hire most, if not all, current store employees, according to an Albertsons news release.
“We warmly welcome these new employees and stores into the Haggen family,” said John Clougher, Haggen’s Pacific Northwest CEO. “We want to retain these existing teams while allowing our growing company to build on their past successes.”
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.With the acquisition, Haggen will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies in Oregon and Washington to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2015, and Haggen officials are planning to convert all of the acquired stores to the Haggen banner during the first six months of 2015.
“We committed to this acquisition because we knew we had the experience, talent and drive to get it done,” Caple said. “The strength of our management and store support teams, combined with the talent of the store teams at each of the new store locations, will enable Haggen to be a successful West Coast grocer.”