Antitrust OK clears way for sale of four Food Lion stores to Weis

The Federal Trade Commission has cleared the way for the merger of Belgian-based Delhaize and Dutch-based Ahold. The two companies have formally merged.

As part of the FTC settlement,  Weis Markets, Inc.   reached a definitive agreement with Food Lion, LLC, to purchase the assets of 38 Food Lion supermarket locations operating in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware,.

“This transaction provides us the opportunity to expand into markets that are contiguous to our current trade area, particularly in Maryland where we are adding 21 stores— essentially doubling our store count in a state where we have steadily grown in recent years,” said Weis Markets  CEO Jonathan Weis. “We’re also looking forward to expanding our operations into two adjacent states with the addition of 13 stores in Virginia and four in Delaware.”

The four Delaware stores are in coastal Sussex County. Weis, like Food Lion, operates smaller grocery stores.

The sales are the result of a pending merger of the Europeans owners of Food Lion and Giant. Also slated to be divested is a Giant store in Salisbury, MD,will become part of  which will go to Albertson’s, (Acme, Safeway).

Weis Markets expects to complete the conversion process for the majority of these stores in September and October and is interested in hiring current Food Lion store staff  for the purchased locations. “We look forward to interviewing and hiring team members who share our commitment to offering an industry-leading combination of value, quality and customer service,” Weis said.

This is the publicly traded company’s second major acquisition in 2016. In May, it announced plans to purchase five Mars Super Markets in Baltimore County,  a deal expected to close later this summer.

When both purchases are complete, Weis Markets will have increased the number of its operating stores by more than 25 percent and will operate 202 stores in seven states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia.

The following is a list of Food Lion store locations in Delaware that  Weis Markets  will purchase in the agreement with Food Lion, LLC: