Safeway’s ‘go shop’ period has expired

It’s onto the next step for Safeway and Albertsons. No additional bidders emerged during Safeway’s 21-day “go shop” period following Albertsons’ announcement of its intention to acquire the company.



Under the definitive merger agreement, Safeway and its representatives were permitted to solicit and engage in negotiations with respect to alternative acquisition proposals during the 21-day period that ended March 27.



AB Acquisition, which is the owner of the Albertson’s and New Albertson’s supermarket chains, is owned by Cerberus Capital Management. AB Acquisition will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway for $9.1 billion. The two companies will operate independently until the deal closes.



None of the parties that Safeway contacted during the “go-shop" period expressed interest in pursuing an alternative transaction under the merger agreement by the deadline. Safeway is now subject to customary "no shop" provisions that limit its ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties or to provide confidential information to third parties.