Safeway's Blackhawk Files for IPO

Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Safeway Inc., has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO of its Class A common stock.

The IPO will consist solely of shares to be offered by existing stockholders, including Safeway; the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. will serve as joint-bookrunning managers, with Goldman, Sachs & Co. serving as the global coordinator for the proposed offering. Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Piper Jaffray, Raymond James and Wells Fargo Securities will serve as co-managers for the proposed offering, which will be made only by means of a prospectus.

Blackhawk is a prepaid payment network utilizing proprietary technology to offer a broad range of gift cards, other prepaid products and payment services in the United States and 18 other countries.