Price Chopper on block for $1B Report: Talks in advanced stage Staff report Published 12:01 am, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
National supermarket chain Albertsons Companies Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Price Chopper for around $1 billion, Reuters reported Tuesday night, citing people familiar with the deal.
The possible purchase, which could alter the Capital Region's business landscape, comes two years after Price Chopper owner Golub Corp. announced its intention to convert its roughly 130 stores to the Market 32 brand and to invest $300 million over the next five years. Price Chopper operates across the Northeast, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts and has $3.6 billion in annual sales. Contacted Tuesday night, Mona Golub, spokeswoman for the company, said she does not comment on rumors. Albertsons declined to comment.
The Reuters sources, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential, cautioned it is still possible for the deal negotiations to fall through. Reuters reported that Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which is controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP and operates more than 2,200 supermarkets, is the second largest U.S. grocery chain after Kroger Co. In a sign of how fragmented the U.S. grocery market is, these two companies, together with Publix Super Markets, controlled just 27 percent of the market in 2015, according to research organization IBIS World, the Reuters story said. In August, Price Chopper dismissed a report by Supermarket News, quoting unidentified sources, that it was looking at a sale.
The trade publication quoted the managing director for Strategic Resource Group in New York, saying the chain is valued between $1.4 billion and $2.5 billion, depending on whether it sold its real estate and distribution centers as well as its supermarkets. At the time, Mona Golub said a sale was not on the table. However, she did say, "We have formed a finance committee on our board to look for capital partners," she said.
This year, Scott Grimmett took over from Jerry Golub as chief executive of Golub Corp. He is the first non-family member to hold that position in the family company.
In April, Grimmett said the conversion of Price Chopper stores to Market 32 was going well. "We couldn't be happier," he said. When the company announced in January that it was promoting Grimmett, it said that Jerry Golub would lead a new committee to quicken the chain's conversion to the Market 32 brand.
Reuters said a deal would underscore the wave of consolidation sweeping the U.S. grocery industry, as regional chains struggle to compete against online retailers such as Amazon.com, big-box stores such as Wal-Mart, and discount chains such as Aldi.
The Capital Region has seen increasing grocery competition from new entrants Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the Fresh Market.
The Niskayuna Food Co-op has remodeled and the Honest Weight food co-op in Albany moved into a larger store. ShopRite opened four stores in the Capital Region, and Delhaize Group, the Belgium-based parent of Hannaford supermarkets, last month said it would be acquired by Netherlands-based Royal Ahold NV, which operates Stop & Shop and Giant supermarkets, in a $10.4 billion deal. In addition, Wal-Mart stores continue to expand into supercenters. Target also has added grocery sections.
Golub Corp. dates back to the turn of the 20th century, when Lewis Golub, a Russian immigrant, settled in Schenectady, where he opened a lunch room, dairy store and eventually, in 1922, a wholesale grocery warehouse. In 2010 Price Chopper opened its new headquarters, on Nott Street, in Schenectady. Price Chopper's Golub Foundation, the region's the second-largest philanthropic group, made grants totaling $1,203,901 in 2015.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
PS - BUMBLER...they are NOT SOLD as your topic heading shows...very misleading information. Do you work for LSM?
put on your specs and read the topic heading again...............k? ?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Price Chopper principal says sale reports are 'nonsense'
Jeff Platsky , jplatsky@gannett.com | @JeffPlatsky 4:52 p.m. EST November 30, 2016
A principal at Price Chopper grocery chain dismissed published reports of a potential sale as "nonsense."
Reuters reported on Tuesday night that Schenectady-based company is in negotiations to sell the chain to Albertson's markets.
Reuters, quoting anonymous sources, wrote the 130-store Northeast grocery chain is close to being sold for close to $1 billion. However, the news service said talks are still progressing and could break down without a deal being consummated.
Price Chopper has three stores in the Binghamton region in addition to stores in Sidney, Delhi, Oneonta, Cortland, Owego, Norwich and Montrose, Pa.
"I don't comment on ... nonsense articles coming from halfway across the country," Neil Golub, executive chairman of Golub Corp, said Wednesday morning at an event at miSci in Schenectady as quoted by the Times Union in Albany.
Feeling pressure from the likes of Walmart, discount chain Aldi's and the ever-expanding Rochester-based Wegmans upscale chain, independent grocers such as Price Chopper are finding it more difficult to compete against the giants as the industry consolidates.
Price Chopper has been owned by the Golub family for more than 80 years. The company was started by Lewis Golub, who arrived at Ellis Island in 1900, as a wholesale grocery warehouse. His two sons opened the first retail outlet in 1932 as the Public Service Market and later changed to Central Market. In 1972, the first Price Chopper opened in Pittsfield, Mass. By fall 1973, the entire Central Market chain was converted to Price Chopper.
Two years ago the chain announced it would undergo a more than $300 million redesign over several years, complete with a new name, modernized concept and additional offerings.
The closely-held company had sales of $3.4 billion last year, according to a Forbes estimate. It employs 20,000.
Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which is controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP and operates more than 2,200 supermarkets, is the second-largest U.S. grocery chain after Kroger Co, Reuters reports.
Quoted Text
SCHENECTADY — The Golub family on Wednesday downplayed rumors that Price Chopper could soon be sold to Albertsons Companies Inc.
“I don’t comment on stuff like that,” said Golub Corp. Chairman Neil Golub, after an event at miSci to honor the Golub family for years of generous contributions to the museum.
[Schenectady officials honor Golubs for miSci contributions]
The Golub Corp. is the parent company of the Price Chopper grocery chain. Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, operates grocery stores under many brands, including Safeway, in 33 states.
“When you see nonsense articles coming from halfway across the country, I’m not going to comment,” Golub added Wednesday.
The Price Chopper Corporate Offices of the Golub Corporation at Nott Street and Maxon Road in Schenectady on Wednesday.
PHOTO: Peter R. BarberGazette Photographer
The Price Chopper Corporate Offices of the Golub Corporation at Nott Street and Maxon Road in Schenectady on Wednesday.
According to a story published Tuesday by Reuters, Albertsons Companies Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Price Chopper for around $1 billion. The story cited sources who asked not to be identified, and it noted the deal could still fall through.
Price Chopper is headquartered in Schenectady and operates about 130 stores across the Northeast. Company spokeswoman Mona Golub also would not talk about the Reuters story at Wednesday’s event.
“We don’t comment on rumors,” she said.
Neil Golub acknowledged that the Reuters story is not the first report to predict a sale of the company in recent years. Asked whether employees should be concerned about a possible sale, he said the company is still a major force in the region.
“They’ve heard rumors for a long time, and every time, I say to our people, ‘Hey, we’re a business. We’re going to be here today, we’re going to be here tomorrow, and whatever comes, whatever happens, happens,’” he said. “We’re going to go about doing our business; we’ll let other people do their business.”
The Golub Corp. laid off 47 employees in April at its Nott Street headquarters. Nearly 700 employees worked in the building following the layoffs.
In 2014, the company announced that Price Chopper stores would be rebranded gradually as “Market 32” stores in an effort to modernize and renovate them.
Golub Corp. CEO Scott Grimmett became the first non-Golub family member to hold that position when he took the post in January. Prior to joining the Golub Corp., he worked for nearly 40 years with Safeway, a grocery chain that is now owned by Albertsons.
A spokeswoman for Albertsons would not comment Wednesday on the rumored deal.
Albertsons was founded in 1939 and is owned by Cerberus Capital management and is one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States. It operates 2,200 grocery stores, though none in New York.
Albertsons has developed a reputation for acquiring other grocery brands, significantly bolstering its operations in recent years.
The company operated 1,075 stores in fiscal year 2013 and 192 stores in fiscal year 2012, according to a 2015 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That filing sought registration for an initial public offering of shares in the company, though that IPO has not happened.
In 2013, Albertsons closed a deal to acquire multiple brands from SuperValu, including Jewel-Osco, Acme Markets and Star markets. In 2015, Albertsons acquired Safeway.
Earlier in 2016, Albertsons acquired 29 Haggen brand stores in Washington and Oregon. Under that deal, 14 Haggen stores continued to operate under that name, while the rest transitioned to Albertsons locations.
The company’s IPO prospectus states that the firm intends to grow its store base through acquisitions.
“We believe that the acquisition and integration experience of our management team, together with the considerable transactional expertise of our equity sponsors, positions us well for future acquisitions as the food and drug retail industry continues to consolidate,” the company wrote.
Reach Gazette reporter Brett Samuels at 395-3113, bsamuels@dailygazette.net or @Brett_Samuels27 on Twitter.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
The story says that Albertsons, which wanted Price Chopper's 135 northeastern stores to enhance its footprint, wants to focus instead on its coming initial public stock offering.
The story also claims, using what it says was "financial sources," that Price Chopper's stores have been losing market share amid tough competition and that its new Market 32 chain has not performed as well as expected.
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