Dive Summary:

• This week, Sobey’s announced that the company has finalized its acquisition of Safeway Canada.
• The acquisition agreement between the two grocery store chains is worth a reported $5.8 billion.
• Safeway says the transaction will allow the company to pay off roughly $2 billion in debt and re-purchase stock shares.

Dive Insight:

“The addition of Canada Safeway represents a unique and highly strategic opportunity to leverage Sobeys' modern asset base and provides us with a new and exciting platform for growth as we move forward,” said president and CEO of Sobey’s parent company Empire, Paul D. Sobey. Sobey’s is a Canada-based grocer which owns or franchises stores in all ten Canadian provinces.