Cleary Gottlieb is representing Goldman, Sachs & Co. as financial advisor to SUPERVALU in the sale of five retail grocery banners to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management. The transaction, which has an enterprise value of $3.3 billion, was announced on January 10 and involved the sale of Supervalu’s Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market stores and related Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies. In addition to the sale, the Cerberus-led investor group has agreed to conduct a tender offer for up to 30 percent of SUPERVALU’s common stock. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, subject to customary regulatory approvals, the refinancing of certain SUPERVALU debt and the satisfaction of conditions to the tender offer.
SUPERVALU is one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel with annual sales of approximately $35 billion.