Could ceo departure spell Ahold sale?

NEWYORK —Could the departure of Ahold’s ceo signal a bidding war for the company’s supermarket chains in the United States? Just possibly, according to JP Morgan analysts.

In a conference call discussing the potential impact of emerging food retailers on the U.S. supermarket industry, participants discussed the news that Ahold president and ceo Anders Moberg was leaving. Analysts Jaime Vazquez and Stephen Chick noted that talks with Delhaize over a sale of Ahold’s U.S. supermarkets, abandoned last year, might resume with Moberg gone.

Critically, new discussions could bring interest from Kroger and Safeway. All three could benefit from a purchase of Ahold U.S.’s supermarkets as it would expand their holdings into areas of the Northeast where Delhaize and Safeway have adjacent holdings and Kroger is largely absent.

Chick noted that recent discussions between Kroger and Goldman Sachs could be about financing a major acquisition, such as Ahold U.S.