Albertsons prices IPO
Albertsons Cos. is proceeding with its plans to go public.
The supermarket giant, whose banners include Safeway, Vons, Acme, its namesake brand and others, announced an initial public offering of 65.8 million shares, at an anticipated price of $18 to $20 per share. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Albertsons would command a market value of $9.1 billion and an enterprise value of $19.0 billion.
The shares will likely start trading late next week, according to The Wall Street Journal. Albertsons plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ACI.”
Albertsons, will give the IPO’s underwriters an option to buy another 9.8 million shares, which would bring the offering’s total proceeds to as much as $1.5 billion. The company won't receive any of the proceeds. Instead, common stockholders will sell shares.
Albertsons made two prior attempts to go public, in 2015 and 2017, only to shelve the effort amid market resistance.
Similar to other grocers, Albertsons’ sales have surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the company said it is experiencing "momentum," which gives it confidence it will "continue delivering profitable growth going forward, it also warned of potential market uncertainty going forward in its SEC filing.
“Consumers’ perception or uncertainty related to the economy, as well as a decrease in their personal financial condition, could hurt overall consumer confidence and reduce demand for many of our product offerings,” Albertsons stated. “Consumers may reduce spending on non-essential items, purchase value-oriented products or increasingly rely on food discounters in an effort to secure the food and drug products that they need, all of which could impact our sales and profit.”
As of the end of its 2019 fiscal year, Albertsons had 2,252 food and drug stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under such banners as Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street and Haggen.