Albertsons Says It Planned $4 Billion Payout Before Kroger Deal
- Grocer replies to AGs’ request to block dividend payment
- Albertsons says dividend is part of company’s growth strategy
The proposed alliance would create a grocery behemoth with almost 5,000 stores and annual revenue of about $200 billion.
Plans by Albertsons Cos. to pay $4 billion to shareholders as a special dividend were developed before the company started talking about a potential merger with Kroger Co., according to a letter from the grocery-store chain to a group of state attorneys general that raised concerns about the payout.
Washington, DC, Attorney General Karl Racine and attorneys general from Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois and Washington State last week asked Albertsons to hold off on the dividend while they review the pending merger, saying it could be a “massive improper giveaway to certain shareholders” and could put the company into a difficult financial situation should Kroger’s planned takeover of Albertsons be blocked.