Stop & Shop, Hannaford parent companies must sell 81 stores to merge

BOSTON – A settlement allowing the parent companies of Stop & Shop and Hannaford Supermarket to merge requires the companies to divest 81 stores nationwide, including eight in Massachusetts.
Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey announced the settlement terms this week.
The AG’s Office joined attorneys general in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the Federal Trade Commission to complete the national review of the transaction as the proposed merger combines Royal Ahold NV and Delhaize Group, owners of multiple supermarket chains in the United States and Europe.
The settlement, filed in conjunction with a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia, states the companies must sell 81 of their stores nationwide to competitors to complete the merger.
“Stop & Shop and Hannaford supermarkets are located in numerous Massachusetts communities,” Healey said in a statement. “By requiring divestitures in cities and towns where the merger would significantly reduce competition, this settlement maintains a marketplace with incentives for stores to offer the best prices, service and merchandise to consumers.”
As part of the settlement Big Y Foods Inc. will acquire Hannaford stores in Kingston, Quincy, Norwell, Milford, Norwood, Saugus and Easton, and Tops Markets LLC will acquire a Stop & Shop store in Gardner.
Ahold operates more than 130 Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts; its principal U.S. subsidiary, Ahold U.S.A. Inc., is headquartered in Quincy. Delhaize operates more than 20 Hannaford stores in Massachusetts; its principal U.S. subsidiary, Delhaize America LLC, is headquartered in North Carolina.

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