By George Anderson
A report in The Wall Street Journal says an investment group of Cerberus Capital Management, Kimco Realty and Supervalu will be announced as the winners of the bidding for Albertsons.
The winning trio are believed to have put together a deal that would pay $9.6 billion or $26 a share for the company's grocery operations. CVS, reports the publication, is in the lead to buy Albertsons' drugstore business.
When the deal is finally announced, it is largely expected that the eventual winner(s) of the bidding for Albertsons will begin widespread layoffs and store closings. The chain has consistently underperformed in recent years, even when compared to other grocery operators.
Representatives from the various companies involved in the negotiations made no comments to the paper.
Moderator's Comment: What will it take to straighten out Albertsons' grocery business and put it back on a growth path? What will the eventual winner(s) of the company's drugstore business have facing them?
Should the deal for Albertsons' grocery business, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, go through, it will represent the second largest leveraged buyout in history. The first was KKR's purchase of RJR Nabisco for $29 billion. - George Anderson - Moderator