Editing Albertsons (section)

===Sale to Cerberus and SuperValu===

Despite this, the acquisition spree had caused significant problems for Albertsons, Inc. Many of the acquired chains had systems that did not mesh well with Albertsons. Financing those acquisitions required Albertsons Inc. to take on significant debt.  Added to those problems were significant changes in consumer buying patterns, including new competition from large discounters such as [[Walmart]] and [[Costco]] that impacted sales.

After several assessments of the company and months of rumors, it was announced on January 23, 2006, Albertsons, Inc. was to be sold to a consortium of companies. [[SuperValu (United States)|SuperValu]] would take the bulk of the company including the brand names and what was considered to be the stronger divisions, including 3 Albertsons divisions: the Southern California division (Southern California; Southern Nevada; along with stores in Hanford and Tulare, in Northern California), the Northwest division (Oregon except Ontario, Washington State, and the Idaho Panhandle), and the Intermountain division (Southern Idaho; Elko, Nevada; Utah; Jackson and Rock Springs, Wyoming; Montana; Ontario, Oregon; and North Dakota) as well as the [[Acme Markets|ACME]], [[Bristol Farms]], Jewel-Osco, and Shaw's Supermarkets and Star Market brands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/95521/000119312506009695/dex991.htm|title=News Release dated January 23, 2006|website=Sec.gov|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312073959/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/95521/000119312506009695/dex991.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> This acquisition would also lead to SuperValu gaining access to over 100 Albertsons Express fuel centers.<ref name=":1"/>

[[CVS Health|CVS]] would acquire 702 stand-alone Osco and Sav-on Drug stores and converted them to [[CVS Pharmacy]] stores. They also closed about 100 of the 702.

What was left of Albertsons Inc. became Albertsons, LLC,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/95521/000119312506126085/d8k.htm|title=Current Report|website=Sec.gov|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312201831/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/95521/000119312506126085/d8k.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> purchased by a [[Cerberus Capital Management|Cerberus]]-led group of investors, and [[CVS Pharmacy]]. The acquisition was completed on June 2, 2006, with the Cerberus-led group (who also included [[Kimco Realty Corporation]], [[Schottenstein Stores Corp.]], Lubert-Adler Partners, and Klaff Realty). They held Albertsons LLC as "AB Acquisition LLC". Albertsons LLC included 661 stores and the distribution centers and offices from five of Albertsons divisions. These five divisions were thought to be Albertsons' five weakest divisions, and conventional wisdom in the industry was that the stores would eventually be closed or sold to other operators.

As of June 2, 2006, the company's retail stores were divided as follows:
* SuperValu had acquired 1,124 stores in the deal, including:
** ACME (134 locations)
** ACME Express, Jewel Express, and Albertsons Express (107 fuel centers)
** Albertsons (564 locations in Southern California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) – New Albertsons Inc. (later sold to Albertsons LLC)<ref>{{cite web|title=Traditions & History|url=http://www.albertsons.com/our-company/traditions-history/|publisher=Albertsons|access-date=October 4, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092517/http://www.albertsons.com/our-company/traditions-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>
** Bristol Farms (11 locations)
** Jewel and Jewel-Osco (198 locations)
** Lazy Acres (1 location)
** Max Foods (4 locations) (3 converted into [[Lucky Stores|Lucky]], 1 became Albertsons in July 2006)
** Osco Pharmacy and Sav-on Pharmacy (906 in-store pharmacies)
** Save-A-Lot (2 stores franchised by Shaw's)
** Shaw's (169 locations)
** Star Market (20 locations)
** Distribution centers (11 centers)
* CVS acquired all (approximately 702) of the stand-alone Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs rebranding them all as CVS Pharmacy, though they closed approximately 100 of the acquired stores. Many CVS locations were close to Sav-on stores. CVS also acquired one distribution center.
* The Cerberus-led Albertsons LLC retained:
** Albertsons (655 locations in Arizona, Northern California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming – Albertsons LLC)
** County Line Liquors (1 location)
** Grocery Warehouse (1 location)
** Jewel-Osco (2 locations)
** Max Foods (2 locations)
** Super Saver Foods (23 locations, 21 closed in late 2006)

Following the sale, Albertson's, Inc., was removed from the [[New York Stock Exchange|NYSE]]. Albertsons LLC was technically the successor company to Albertsons according to SEC filings<ref>{{cite web|title=Markit RED Notification: Albertson's Inc|url=https://www.markit.com/news/Albertsons.pdf|publisher=markit|date=June 12, 2008|access-date=April 18, 2015|archive-date=April 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418050206/https://www.markit.com/news/Albertsons.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> but it was New Albertsons Inc. that assumed most of the debt, got most of the property, and transitioned Albertsons stock into SuperValu stock.

The five Albertsons Inc. divisions that remained as Albertsons LLC were the Dallas/Fort Worth division (Texas excluding El Paso, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas), the Rocky Mountain division (Colorado, Wyoming excluding Rock Springs and Jackson stores, Nebraska, and South Dakota), the Southwest division (Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas), the Florida division (Florida), and the Northern California division (northern California excluding Hanford and Tulare stores, and northern Nevada). Albertsons LLC then concentrated on rebuilding market share and its store base in its stronger areas and divesting stores and other property in its weaker areas.

On June 6, 2006, only one week after Albertsons LLC was created, the company announced its intent to close 100 Albertsons stores by August 2006, including all but two Super Saver stores.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150904052951/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060608/ai_n16483143?tag=rel.res1 Albertsons to close 100 of its stores] ''Deseret News'' (Salt Lake City), June 8, 2006.</ref> Those closures were spread across all five divisions. Soon after, the company announced that it would be shutting down its online delivery service on July 21, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=L. A. Times |date=2006-07-14 |title=Albertsons LLC to Close Its Online Grocery Business |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-14-fi-albert14-story.html |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> To distinguish the two companies, Albertsons LLC created a second website, ''AlbertsonsMarket.com''.