Palmer, Wasilla Carrs Safeway among 18 Alaska stores planned for divestiture in proposed merger with Kroger

As part of a larger divestiture plan by the Albertsons Companies, Inc, the company has released a list of nearly 600 stores to be sold around the country, including 18 stores in Alaska that are part of the list, with two of them in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The move is part of its merger with the Kroger Company, which owns Fred Meyer. The Kroger and Albertsons merger was first announced in October, 2022, at which time Albertsons stated that no stores would be closed. It would be one of the largest supermarket mergers in the country’s history and make the stores more competitive against Walmart and Amazon.

A divestiture plan was announced in September, 2023, giving C&S Wholesale Grocers ownership of the stores listed in the divestiture plan, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called the initial plan “inadequate,” and increasing concerns that the merger could lead to higher prices, store closures and job losses.

Then in April, 2024, the chains announced that they planned to sell more of their stores in an effort to suppress the federal government’s concerns about their proposed merger.

The companies now plan to sell 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores in markets where they overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

The planned merger, which is reportedly worth $24.6 billion, has been met with fierce opposition from Alaska’s congressional delegation, including Representative Mary Peltola, who has been vocal in her opposition to the merger, sending a letter to the FTC requesting the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons grocery chains be blocked.

“I haven’t met an Alaskan who is for this merger. I haven’t heard any public testimony in support of this merger,” said Representative Peltola said during a telephone interview earlier this year. At the time, she estimated that the merger could have resulted in selling 14 of the 35 Carrs-Safeway stores.

She was also worried at an apparent lack of transparency when discussing the sales of the stores, saying that no one had identified which stores could possibly be sold, and estimating that if the merger were to go through, the stores most likely to be sold are ones where Carrs-Safeway is right next to a Fred Meyer store, especially where the Carrs-Safeway and neighboring Fred Meyer stores in Wasilla and Palmer.

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan said they wrote a letter to the FTC in September 2023, raising concerns regarding the supermarket acquisition to FTC Chair Lina Khan, citing the effects on consumer prices, the state’s food security, and Alaskan employees.

In February, the FTC filed an administrative complaint to block a proposed merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons, saying the multi-billion dollar deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

The FTC also filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Oregon requesting a temporary injunction blocking the merger. That lawsuit was joined by the attorneys general of eight states, as well as the District of Columbia.

The FTC sued to block the merger in February of this year, saying the deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

The stores listed in Alaska include the Carrs-Safeway on 664 E. Palmer-Wasilla Highway, Palmer and 595 E. Parks Highway, in Wasilla. Additionally, the majority of stores marked for divestiture are located in the Southcentral and Fairbanks.