Albertsons Companies, a US grocer operating under Albertsons, Safeway, and other banners, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, this is likely a placeholder for a deal we estimate could raise up to $2 billion.
The company previously filed for a $1.6 billion IPO in 2015, but postponed the offering and eventually withdrew in 2018 when it planned to merge with Rite-Aid (NYSE: RAD). The merger was never completed. It is now reportedly targeting a roughly $19 billion valuation.
The Boise, ID-based company was founded in 1926 and booked $61 billion in sales for the 12 months ended November 30, 2019. It plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol ACI. Albertsons Companies filed confidentially on October 24, 2019. BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citi, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Securities, Barclays and Deutsche Bank are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
