Albertsons Companies has named Jim Perkins as the leader in planning efforts for SpinCo, a company that could potentially consist of around 100 to 375 divested stores in the planned Kroger-Albertsons mega-merger, an Albertsons spokesperson confirmed.
Albertsons and Kroger have said they could establish SpinCo as a way to help win regulatory approval for the merger. The merger agreement also allows Kroger to walk away from the deal and pay a $600 million breakup fee if the number of store divestitures exceeds 650.
“Right now, the merger is in the early stages of FTC review, and it’s too early to know if SpinCo will be needed. However, we are required by our merger agreement to begin preparing SpinCo to make sure that it can be set up smoothly and quickly if it is needed,” Susan Morris, Albertsons’ chief operating officer, said in an internal memo last week, per Food Trade News.
Perkins has worked for Albertsons for more than 40 years and most recently served as president of the company’s Acme Markets division, according to the publication. He helped oversee Acme’s $94.6 million acquisition of Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market in 2020.
Perkins’ new role took effect May 22, and Tom Lofland, formerly Albertsons’ Mid-Atlantic senior vice president of merchandising and marketing, was promoted to Perkins’ former role as the Mid-Atlantic Division president.
When the merger deal between Kroger and Albertsons was announced in October 2022, it included a per-share payment of $34.10 for Albertsons and the assumption of $4.7 billion in Albertsons’ net debt.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen reinforced previous claims that the merger would lower prices for shoppers, create more job opportunities and benefit local communities. He also noted that Kroger and Albertsons will take legal action if the merger is blocked.
