Boise’s Albertsons Discussing Massive Merger With Kroger

According to multiple national news outlets, including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg, Boise-based Albertsons is looking at a potential merger with Kroger. Kroger is the country's second-largest grocer behind Walmart, and Albertsons is the fourth-largest. They are currently the two largest supermarket chains in the country, and the move would give them the buying power of Walmart.

Kroger owns about 2,800 stores in 35 states, including Idaho, under the Fred Meyer brand. Albertsons owns 20 brands, including Safeway, in 35 states.

Like Boise, in many markets, there is significant overlap. That could be cause for concern for the employees of both companies in those locations. Kroger has over 420,000 employees, and Albertsons has over 290,000. The deal would almost certainly mean that the company headquarters would be moved to Cincinnati, as the much larger Kroger would purchase Albertsons in an all-cash agreement, according to CNBC.

Talk of the acquisition sent Albertsons stock soaring this afternoon. The two companies are in deep enough discussions that the final deal could be announced as early as tomorrow.

Expect a lot of speculation on the local impact of this move over the next two days, with many Albertsons corporate-level employees living in the area. The merger could also negatively impact many local store-level employees.