Haggen grocery stores to open in Las Vegas

Pacific Northwest grocer purchasing 7 Albertsons, Vons stores

A Pacific Northwest grocery chain is entering Southern Nevada with the purchase of seven Albertsons and Vons stores.

Haggen, based in Bellingham, Wash., is buying the groceries as part of a 146-store acquisition in the western U.S. that stems from a merger-related sell-off, the company said today.

The portfolio sale is expected to close early next year, and Haggen plans to convert the stores to its own brand throughout the first half of 2015.

Haggen said it plans to keep the stores’ management teams, and that all employees of the acquired groceries “will have the opportunity” to work for Haggen.

Haggen majority owner Comvest Partners, a West Palm Beach, Fla., investment firm, would not disclose the purchase price.

The deal, subject to Federal Trade Commission approval, is a major growth spurt for Haggen.

The grocer has 18 stores and 2,000 employees in Washington and Oregon. If the sale goes through, it will have 164 stores and more than 10,000 employees, with new locations in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Albertsons owner Cerberus Capital Management reached a deal this spring to buy Vons owner Safeway Inc. for about $9 billion. The sale is expected to close in January.

Albertsons had 32 stores in Southern Nevada and Vons had 14 around the time the deal was announced.

Today, those companies said they would sell 168 stores nationally to four buyers to land FTC approval of the merger. Haggen was the only one to get locations in Nevada.

In a joint press release, Albertsons and Safeway officials said the buyers “will acquire the stores, equipment and inventory, and they intend to hire most, if not all, of the store employees” when deals close.

Haggen will acquire the following stores in Southern Nevada:

* Vons: 1031 Nevada Highway, Boulder City; 7530 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas; 1940 Village Center Circle, Las Vegas; and 820 S. Rampart Blvd., Las Vegas.

* Albertsons: 2910 Bicentennial Parkway, Henderson; 575 College Drive, Henderson; and 190 N. Boulder Highway, Henderson.

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