CINCINNATI, Jan. 15,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR),
Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ACI), and C&S Wholesale
Grocers, LLC today issued the following joint statement:
"We remain in active and ongoing dialogue with the Federal
Trade Commission and individual state Attorneys General regarding
our proposed merger and divestiture plan.
We believe our merger with Albertsons and the comprehensive
divestiture to C&S will result in the best outcomes for
customers, associates and our communities.
In light of our continuing dialogue with the regulators, we
are updating our anticipated closure timeline. We currently
anticipate that the closing will occur in the first half of
Kroger's fiscal 2024. While this is longer than we originally
thought, we knew it was a possibility and our merger agreement and
divestiture plan accounted for such potential
timing.
We remain committed to closing the transaction and providing
the meaningful and measurable benefits that we promised when we
originally announced the transaction."
Kroger's combination with Albertsons will mean lower prices and
more choices for more customers. With a proven record of lowering
prices year over year, Kroger will invest $500 million to reduce prices beginning day one,
as well as an incremental $1.3
billion to enhance the customer experience. The merger will
mean more fresh, affordable food is available to more people in
more communities.
Kroger is committed to protecting good-paying union jobs, with
no store closures or frontline associates laid off as a result of
the merger. In addition, Kroger will invest an incremental
$1 billion to raise wages and
comprehensive benefits for all associates post-close. This builds
on the $1.9 billion in incremental
investments the company has made in wages and comprehensive
benefits since 2018. Additionally, post-close Kroger will provide
700,000+ part-time and full-time associates access to its
continuing education benefit, which offers up to $21,000 of reimbursement toward higher learning
or continued development. The combined company will also expand
access to its Goldman Sachs Ayco financial coaching tool.
As the identified divestiture buyer, C&S Wholesale Grocers
has also committed to recognize the union workforce and maintain
all collective bargaining agreements, and is committed to retaining
frontline employees and further investing for growth. This is
the best outcome to secure the future of union jobs in the American
grocery industry.
The merger will also result in more opportunities to invest in
communities across the U.S., as Kroger continues its mission to
create neighborhoods free from hunger and food waste. Last year,
Kroger announced a commitment to donate 10 billion meals upon
completion of the merger to families across the country by 2030.
This is enough to feed every person in the cities of Seattle, Denver, Chicago and Boston every meal, every day for nearly two
years.
To learn more about the proposed merger between Kroger and
Albertsons Cos visit here.
Kroger's fiscal second quarter ends on August 17, 2024.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR),
we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are,
across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who
serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital
shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety
of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and
uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To
learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor
relations site.
This press release contains certain statements that constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal
securities laws, including statements regarding the effects of the
proposed transaction and divestiture plan. These statements are
based on the assumptions and beliefs of Kroger and Albertsons
management in light of the information currently available to them.
Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as
"accelerate," "anticipates," "create," "committed," "confident,"
"continue," "deliver," "driving," "expect," "future," "guidance,"
"positioned," "strategy," "target," "synergies," "trends," and
"will." Various uncertainties and other factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. These include the specific risk factors
identified in "Risk Factors" in each of Kroger's and Albertsons'
annual report on Form 10-K for the last fiscal year and any
subsequent filings, as well as the following: the expected timing
and likelihood of completion of the proposed transaction and
divestiture plan, including the timing, receipt and terms and
conditions of any required governmental and regulatory clearance of
the proposed transaction and divestiture plan; the impact of the
proposed divestiture plan; the occurrence of any event, change or
other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the
merger agreement or divestiture agreement; the outcome of any legal
proceedings that may be instituted against the parties and others
following announcement of the merger agreement and proposed
transaction or divestiture plan; the inability to consummate the
proposed transaction or divestiture plan due to the failure to
satisfy other conditions to complete the proposed transaction or
divestiture plan; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts
current plans and operations of Kroger and Albertsons Cos.; the
ability to identify and recognize the anticipated benefits of the
proposed transaction, including expectations and synergies; the
amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the
proposed transaction or divestiture plan; and the ability of Kroger
and Albertsons Cos. to successfully integrate their businesses and
related operations; the ability of Kroger to maintain an investment
grade credit rating; risks related to the potential impact of
general economic, political and market factors on the companies or
the proposed transaction. The ability of Kroger and Albertsons Cos.
to achieve the goals for the proposed transaction may also be
affected by their ability to manage the factors identified
above.
The forward-looking statements by Kroger and Albertsons included
in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were
made. Neither Kroger nor Albertsons assumes the obligation to
update the information contained herein unless required by
applicable law. Please refer to the reports and filings of Kroger
and Albertsons with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a
further discussion of the risks and uncertainties that affect them
and their respective businesses.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.