Shares of Albertsons, the grocer that put itself up for sale in August, rose 5 percent after the company received bids from two groups of private equity firms and No. 1 supermarket chain Kroger Co., parent of King Soopers and City Market stores in Colorado.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management LP have formed one group to buy Albertsons, and Bain Capital, Tho mas H. Lee Partners LP and Warburg Pincus LLC have formed another, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the bidding by the private equity firms and Kroger.
Albertsons, whose chains include Jewel and Shaw’s, is seeking a buyer for part or all of the company after competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a 20-week labor strike led to a profit decline in three of the past four years.
The offers for Albertsons are all “in the high $20’s a share,” according to The New York Times, which would value the company at more than $10 billion.
Any offer would be expected to include about $6 billion in debt, The New York Times said.
Shares of Albertsons rose $1.19, to $25.25 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Kroger rose 27 cents, to $20.07.
