Sale of Grand Union Stores Finally Closes

The transaction that just closed was the sale of 170 stores to C&S. The latter, in turn, is selling six of them to Pathmark, 19 to Shaws and 20 to Tops. All will remain as supermarkets, operating in New Jersey and New England. C&S will retain 30 of them, entering the retail side of the business itself. The 30 will continue to bear the Grand Union name.

Over the next three months, meanwhile, 42 stores will be sold to Royal Ahold of the Netherlands, which will convert them to Stop & Shop operations. Hannaford Brothers, based in Maine, will acquire another five stores for its own stable. The remaining 48 of the 170 acquired by C&S will also be sold off, although most of them will be converted to non-food retail operations.

Finally, the 16 stores that Grand Union didn't sell to C&S will be liquidated, although a time frame has not been outlined. Grand Union itself will go out of business once that liquidation is completed, and will remain only as a name on 30 stores owned and operated by C&S.