Regions

According to sources who were familiar with the matter, several buyout firms including Cerberus Capital Management LP had taken an interest in buying parts or all of US supermarket chain Safeway Inc. Safeway itself was not open for a buyout at the moment, but sources said the supermarket chain had been consulting with Goldman Sachs Group regarding its options. The sources refused to be identified as the matter has been deemed private.

Safeway recently took some measures to ensure a hostile takeover in the company. Activist investor Jana Partners LLC said shares of the supermarket chain were undervalued. Jana reportedly was talking with the management of Safeway to discuss its strategic options. Jana currently has a 6.2 ownership stake in the company. The board of the supermarket chain approved a USD2 billion stock buyback program. It had also announced plans to exit from the market in Chicago.

When asked for comment regarding the report, Safeway, Goldman and Cerberus refused to provide a statement.