The troubled grocer revealed that it had received an offer on Friday, from a group including drugstore giant CVS, grocery retailer Supervalu, Cerberus Capital Management and Kimco Realty. The consortium had already made a bid in December.
In a statement, Albertson's said that after reviewing the new proposal, its board of directors authorised management and its representatives to enter negotiations. Although the retailer emphasised that it could not guarantee the offer would be accepted, the board was in meetings yesterday to complete the talks.
Albertsons is one of the world's largest food and pharmacy retailers, with divisions and subsidiaries operating about 2,500 stores in 37 US states. It employs approximately 240,000 staff. Fascias include Albertsons, Acme, Shaw's, Jewel-Osco, Sav-on Drugs, Osco Drug and Star Markets, as well as Super Saver and Bristol Farms, which are operated independently.
UK retailer Tesco, which recently concluded a 12-month research project on opportunities in the US market, had been touted as a possible bidder but always denied any interest in the business.
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