Cerberus Nearing Deal with Supervalu?

Supervalu Inc. is reportedly poised to sell its Albertsons and Save-A-Lot chains to Cerberus Capital Management after plans fell through to acquire the entire company.

Published reports indicate Supervalu is considering selling Albertsons and Save-A-Lot to Cerberus, though the Minneapolis-based grocer will only say it “continues in active discussion with several parties.”

Supervalu acquired Idaho-based Albertsons – which includes the Jewel-Osco, Acme and Shaw’s chains, as well as 569 Albertsons stores in the West – for $12.4 billion in 2006. As part of that deal, Cerberus picked up 655 Albertsons stores, of which 400 have since been sold.

Hard-discounter Save-A-Lot, based in St. Louis, is considered the most successful component of Supervalu, which has seen three straight years of declining sales. Others including KKR have also reportedly shown interest in Save-A-Lot.