Albertsons Pulls IPO Plan Due to Rite Aid Merger Deal

Albertsons Cos. has again filed to pull back its plan for an initial public offering (IPO), this time due to its merger deal with Camp Hill, Pa.-based drug store chain Rite Aid Corp., MarketWatch has reported. This marks the third IPO stall from the grocer in as many years.

The Boise, Idaho-based grocer said that the Securities and Exchange Commission had not yet declared the registration statement for the IPO, last amended in November 2017, as effective. At that time, the company had not yet set the IPO’s terms, the news outlet said.

Privately held Albertsons Cos. and publicly traded Rite Aid announced their intent to merge in February, with plans to close the deal in the second half of 2018. The following month, Albertsons Cos. appointed as president and COO Jim Donald, an Albertsons vet and former CEO of Starbucks and Haggen, in a move that at least one expert believes was to help gain approval from the Federal Trade Commission for the deal.

Albertsons Cos.’ previous IPO stall came last July, likely due to ecommerce giant Amazon’s June proposal to purchase natural grocer Whole Foods, which completed the following month. Meal-kit-delivery service Blue Apron Inc. and its own IPO performance also likely contributed to that decision.

The July 2017 stall was Albertsons Cos.’ second in as many years: The first took place in October 2015 due to unstable market conditions.