A PYMNTS Company

Ahold gets FTC approval to buy Genuardi’s, but must sell the Newtown, Penn. outpost

By  |  June 16, 2012

The FTC has approved the acquisition of Genuardi’s supermarkets by Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (the parent company of Giant Food Stores). Ahold, which also operates Stop & Shop supermarkets, is purchasing Genuardi’s, a 16-supermarket Philadelphia area chain, from Safeway.

However, as a condition of the FTC’s approval, Ahold must sell a Genuardi’s located in Newtown, Pennsylvania, to McCaffrey’s supermarkets. The deal would otherwise violate the FTC Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act, because the market for supermarkets in Newtown is highly concentrated. Only three supermarkets–Giant, Acme, and Genuardi’s–are in Newtown, so the acquisition would otherwise eliminate competition between Giant and Genuardi’s.

Full content: FTC Press Release

 

Related content: Antitrust Concerns from Partial Ownership Interest Acquisitions: New Developments in the European Union and the United States

 

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.