By Anirban Sen and Abigail Summerville

(Reuters) – Grocery store operators Kroger (NYSE:) Co and Albertsons Corporations Inc are advancing plans to promote between 250 and 300 shops they hope will alleviate U.S. antitrust considerations over their mixture, in line with folks conversant in the matter.

The divestitures would come because the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC), which is reviewing Kroger’s proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, is beneath stress from some U.S. lawmakers and shopper advocacy teams to dam it over considerations it might result in grocery worth hikes when inflation has already been raging.

The shops that Kroger and Albertsons might promote could possibly be value greater than $1 billion, the sources mentioned. They’re situated throughout all of the areas the place the 2 corporations function – for instance, the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Phoenix and Chicago.

Between them, Kroger and Albertsons function a complete of 4,996 shops. The businesses have began to sound out potential consumers for the shops and have been discussing their plans with the FTC to get its blessing, the sources added.

The businesses had beforehand mentioned they could divest between 100 and 375 shops by inserting them in a brand new firm that Albertsons shareholders would personal, though in a regulatory submitting Kroger mentioned the higher restrict for divestitures was 650 shops. Kroger and Albertsons will select to proceed with the spin-off if they’re unable to strike a take care of a possible purchaser.

Potential consumers for the shops embody rival grocery retailer operators that need to increase their U.S. footprint, resembling Ahold Delhaize, the sources mentioned. Netherlands-based Ahold operates the Cease & Store, Big, Meals Lion and Hannaford chains in the US.

The sources requested anonymity to debate confidential deliberations. Kroger, Albertsons and the FTC declined to remark.

5 antitrust specialists Reuters interviewed mentioned a key focus for the FTC would be the monetary viability of the shops divested.

It’s because FTC Chair Lina Khan has cited the failure of divestitures in a earlier grocery store merger involving Albertsons and Safeway as a cause for the company to be skeptical in regards to the deserves of such transfer.

When Albertsons agreed to the $9 billion acquisition of Safeway in 2014, it obtained regulatory clearance by signing a deal to promote 146 shops to West Coast regional grocer Haggen for $300 million. Haggen filed for chapter months later and blamed the take care of Albertsons for its demise. Albertsons then agreed to purchase most of the Haggen shops again for $300 million.

In a Harvard Legislation & Coverage Assessment article revealed 5 years in the past, Khan wrote that “even an informal observer might have predicted that Haggen would have nice problem increasing its retailer fronts almost ten-fold” following its take care of Albertsons, and argued that the antitrust treatment “backfired.”

Brian Concklin, a companion at regulation agency Clifford Likelihood who advises on antitrust issues and isn’t concerned within the Kroger-Albertsons deal, mentioned that to face an opportunity, Albertsons and Kroger would want to verify they’re shedding shops that may be formidable sufficient rivals within the eyes of the FTC.

“(The Albertsons-Safeway deal) will loom giant over how these belongings are considered and the way the FTC evaluates whether or not these divestiture packages being provided are viable,” Concklin mentioned.