Supervalu Inc struck a $3.3 billion deal to reduce its burdensome debt by selling five retail grocery chains to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP, the No. 3 U.S. grocery store operator announced on Thursday.Shares in Supervalu jumped 7.9 percent to $3.29 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has been losing shoppers to rivals like Kroger Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Supervalu, which also reported a quarterly profit, said it would sell the Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market chains and in-store pharmacy under the Osco and Sav-on names. The transaction will be valued at $3.3 billion, in which the buyer will take on $3.2 billion of Supervalu's debt.After the deal, slated to close by the end of March, Supervalu's business will include a food wholesaler serving 1,950 U.S. stores; the discount grocery chain Save-A-Lot, which offers a smaller assortment of low-priced merchandise than a typical supermarkets; and the regional grocery chains Cub, Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop 'n Save and Hornbacher's.
The Kroger Co. is a retailer in the United States. Shares of KR remained unchanged at $25.55. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $20.98 and as high as $27.11. On average, 4933410 shares of KR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2830000.
SUPERVALU INC. (SUPERVALU) is a United States grocery channel. Shares of SVU traded higher by 14.14% or $0.43/share to $3.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $1.68 and as high as $7.43. On average, 6497600 shares of SVU exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 60767304.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) operates retail stores in various formats around globally. Shares of WMT fell by 0.31% or $-0.21/share to $68.36. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $57.18 and as high as $77.60. On average, 8847850 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 11454308.
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