SuperValu to sell 19 Shop ’n Save stores to Schnucks

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based SuperValu plans to sell 19 of its 36 St. Louis-based Shop ’n Save Stores to St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets, the wholesaler and retailer announced in a press release.

The move will take place in a “staggered close process,” currently expected to finish by late October, subject to customary closing conditions. As part of the acquisition, SuperValu and Schnucks will also enter into an agreement in which SuperValu will serve as the primary supplier for nine of Schnucks’ existing stores located across northern Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, the press release said.

“The team has worked diligently and successfully to put this agreement together,” said Mark Gross, SuperValu’s president and CEO. “This transaction is an important step in the continued transformation of our business. Schnucks is an excellent retailer in the St. Louis area, and we’re pleased that these stores will become a part of their operation, including continuing to serve the communities and providing jobs to many of our employees.”

As part of the deal, Schnucks will purchase 15 in-store pharmacy locations and one stand-alone pharmacy, which will remain open, and prescription files at 10 other Shop ‘n Save pharmacy locations that will be transferred to other Schnucks pharmacies in the area. Schnucks will also acquire four of Shop ‘n Save’s seven fuel centers. All other Shop ‘n Save stores and fuel centers currently remain open, the press release said.

One of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $15 billion, SuperValu also said in the press release that in the event it cannot identify one or more buyers for these remaining stores in the near term, they will be closed later this year.