Grocery chain Albertsons plans to raise $1.5B in IPO

Albertsons Cos., the U.S. supermarket chain with more than 2,000 stores backed by Cerberus Capital Management, said it plans to raise about $1.53 billion in an initial public offering.

The sales will consist of 65.3 million shares at $23 to $26 each, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last year, Cerberus acquired grocer Safeway Inc. and merged it with Albertsons. That created the second-biggest supermarket chain in America behind Kroger Co., according to PrivCo. In addition to the Albertsons and Safeway brands, the Boise, Idaho- based company operates Vons, Jewel-Osco, United Supermarkets and Pavilions.

Albertsons posted a net loss of $385 million, including the Safeway acquisition, on $57.5 billion in sales in the 53 weeks ended Feb. 28.

Proceeds from the IPO will go toward paying down debt, the prospectus shows. The company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ABS. The sale would result in net proceeds of $1.53 billion at the midpoint of the price range, the company said.

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