MARKET MERGER PLAN OK'D; RALPHS, HUGHES AGREE TO SELL 19 STORES; NO LAYOFFS EXPECTED.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer The pending marriage between Ralphs Grocery Co. and Hughes Family Markets received a blessing Friday from regulators after the chains agreed to sell off 19 stores in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area to rivals. Ralphs and Hughes, which agreed in November to be bought in two deals for $4.8 billion by Portland-based Fred Meyer Inc., negotiated the pact with the California Department of Justice and filed a consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission also cleared the merger. A Ralphs spokesman said the deal is expected to close by the end of March. Under the agreement, Fred Meyer will have to sell the stores within nine months after taking over Ralphs and Hughes. The chains said they did not anticipate layoffs resulting from the store sales and noted that Fred Meyer plans to expand Ralphs, which will be the surviving name, with 15 new stores and 38 remodeled stores during the next 12 months. The stores targeted for divestiture The breakup of AT&T. By federal court order, AT&T divested itself on January 1, 1984 of its 23 operating companies, which became known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). are in neighborhoods where both chains had a significant presence and include six in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , two in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , one in Camarillo, two in Pasadena, six in Orange County, one in Torrance and one in West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. . ``The divestiture will give consumers in these neighborhoods meaningful choice in the selection of supermarkets,'' the state Department of Justice said in a statement. Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Association, welcomed the news that a store on Laurel Canyon Boulevard Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a major street in the city of Los Angeles, California. It starts off at Polk Street in Sylmar in the northern San Fernando Valley near the junction of the San Diego (Interstate 405) and the Golden State Freeways (Interstate 5). in Studio City is one of the locations to be divested. ``We've stopped the monopoly of Ralphs in Studio City, which was our intent and objective,'' he said. ``But I would say that we really regret the loss of (Hughes).'' Fred Meyer is paying $3.1 billion, including debt assumption, for Ralphs, and $1.7 billion for Bellevue, Wash.-based Quality Food Centers Inc., the parent of Hughes. When the deal is completed, Fred Meyer will be the nation's fourth largest supermarket company with $15 billion in annual sales and more than 800 stores and 88,000 employees in 14 states. -- Daily News Wire Services contributed to this report. STORES ON THE BLOCK Regulators are requiring 19 grocery stores in the Los Angeles area to be sold before they will approve the Ralphs-Hughes merger, including nine local outlets: RALPHS MARKETS 820 Arneil Road, Camarillo 8201 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park 19331 Soledad Canyon Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon / valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Soledad Canyon contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, and Agua Dulce. Road, Canyon Country 20440 Devonshire St., Chatsworth 10201 Reseda Blvd., Northridge 4033 Laurel Canyon Laurel Canyon can refer to several things:
23221 Saticoy St., West Hills HUGHES MARKETS 26518 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus 4520 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks CAPTION(S): Box BOX: STORES ON THE BLOCK (see text) |
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