Albertsons has reached a $106 million deal to purchase 29 of the remaining 33 Haggen stores in Washington and Oregon.

Albertsons has reached a $106 million deal to purchase 29 of the remaining 33 Haggen stores in Washington and Oregon.

Haggen reaches $106 million deal to sell remaining stores to Albertsons

  • By Jim Davis
  • Friday, March 11, 2016 7:00pm
  • Business

The Herald Business Journal

Haggen Food &Pharmacy announced Friday evening that it had accepted Albertsons’ bid to acquire 29 core stores in Washington and Oregon including five in Snohomish County and one in Island County.

The Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons would pay $106 million for the stores, according to documents filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The agreement still needs to gain bankruptcy-court approval.

It wasn’t clear Friday night whether Albertsons would try to run the remaining stores under the Haggen brand name or convert the stores to Albertsons and Safeways. Albertsons merged last year in a $9.4 billion dollar deal with Safeway.

As part of the merger, the Federal Trade Commission required Albertsons-Safeway to sell 168 stores, the vast majority of which the Bellingham-based Haggen purchased. Haggen grew from 2,000 employees with 18 stores in the Northwest to more than 10,000 employees and 164 stores up and down the West Coast.

It ran into problems right away. By summer, Haggen announced plans to close and sell stores, and by September, it had filed for bankruptcy. And that led to Friday night’s announcement that Albertsons would be purchasing the remaining Haggen stores.

Haggen also announced Friday that its seeking court approval for a new financing commitment from Albertsons. That agreement will help Haggen fund operations through the close of sale and pay for administration costs related to its bankruptcy case. A hearing is scheduled on March 29.

Albertsons did not buy three stores in the deal, one in Puyallup, another in Port Angeles and the third in Oregon City, Oregon. The company notified the state’s Employment Security Department that it would lay off 145 workers at the two Washington stores.

Haggen will ask the bankruptcy court to allow it to begin going-out-of-business sales for those stores.

The core stores in Snohomish and Island counties that Albertons will purchase under the deal are located at: 17520 Highway 9 SE, Snohomish; 1301 Ave. D, Snohomish; 26603 72nd Ave. NW, Stanwood; 8915 Market Place NE, Lake Stevens; 3711 88th St. NE, Marysville; and 31565 Highway 20, No. 1, Oak Harbor.

Reporter Emily Hamann contributed to this report.

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