Delhaize, Ahold Grocery Giant To Divest 86 Stores

As the big merger between Delhaize and Ahold nears the final lap, it looks like the 86 stores to be divested from the herd have found buyers.

The big selloff comes as the culmination of the merger of two international grocery giants that first started getting underway in June 2015. Pending final approval from the FTC, the Delhaize-Ahold merger could be signed, sealed and delivered by the end of July.

The divested stores are found in the limited number of U.S. locations in which the U.S. subsidiaries of both firms operate. All stores will be slipped over to their new owners and ready to reopen as soon as buyer remodeling is done. All divestiture deals are, of course, contingent on FTC approval. Publix and Supervalu are among the main buyers of the stock of surplus supermarkets.

All in, 4.1 percent of the Ahold and Delhaize’s total combined U.S. holdings are being divested, accounting for 3.2 percent of combined U.S. net sales. When the merger is done, the Ahold-Delhaize single brand will employ 375,000 associates and serve 50 million customers.