PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Safeway
grocery · Pleasanton, CA
- Acquirer
- Albertsons (PE-backed)
- Year Acquired
- 2015
Cerberus promised no store closures. Then closed 160+ stores.
What They Did
- Cerberus-led group acquired Safeway for $9.2B in 2015, financing ~$7.8B through debt; promised 'no store closures are expected'
- Closed 160+ grocery stores nationwide post-merger, including 40 in Colorado alone within five years
- Loaded the combined Albertsons empire with $12.5 billion in debt, consuming resources that could fund store improvements
- Pushed through a $4B one-time cash payout to shareholders ahead of the Kroger merger — a Washington court froze it, but the state Supreme Court declined to step in and the payout went ahead in January 2023
Since the Acquisition
- 168 stores in eight states were sold off to rival chains as an FTC condition of the merger, and 40+ Safeway/Albertsons locations have since closed in Colorado alone
- 12 more Safeway stores across Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico announced for closure in 2025, affecting 600+ workers and creating food deserts
- Albertsons cut about 400 corporate jobs via WARN filings in January 2025 — 225 in Phoenix, 156 in Pleasanton, California — effective that February
- Albertsons' own CEO testified that its prices are higher than competitors like Walmart and Kroger
Sources
- PE tried to shoplift $4B from Albertsons — Slate(2022-11-09)
- Why Safeways Keep Closing in Colorado — Colorado Trust(2019-11-01)
- Safeway Undermined by PE Plunderers — UFCW(2019-07-29)
- Kroger Fights Suit by Albertsons Over Failed $24.6 Billion Deal — Insurance Journal(2025-03-26)
- Albertsons plans 12 Safeway closures, including 10 in Colorado — Supermarket News(2025-09-10)
- Safeway to cut nearly 400 corporate positions — Supermarket News
- Albertsons' CEO testified its prices are high, layoffs could come, & stores could close — BoiseDev(2024-12-17)
- Albertsons proceeds with $4B dividend after prevailing in latest court battle — Grocery Dive(2023-01-18)
- FTC Requires Albertsons and Safeway to Sell 168 Stores as a Condition of Merger — Federal Trade Commission(2015-01-27)