Sobeys to acquire Canada Safeway stores for $5.8B

The Sobeys grocery store chain has reached a deal to buy more than 200 Safeway stores in Western Canada for $5.8 billion, Sobeys' parent company, Empire Company Limited, announced Wednesday.

"The acquisition allows us to leverage our existing assets and in turn position Sobeys to compete even more effectively within the changing, and increasingly competitive, grocery retail landscape," Empire president and CEO Paul D. Sobey said in a news release.

The $5.8 billion acquisition will be paid for in cash, and Sobeys Inc. will assume some liabilities, including some related to pensions. The deal has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the fall of 2013 — subject to approval by the Competition Bureau.

Along with 213 Safeway grocery stores — more than 60 per cent of which are in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg — Sobeys will also acquire:

199 in-store pharmacies.
62 gas stations.
10 liquor stores.
4 primary distribution centres and a related wholesale business.
12 manufacturing facilities.
Sobeys will get $1.8 billion worth of real estate in the deal. (CBC)