Dive Brief:
- The Federal Trade Commission has approved a modification of the settlement for Bi-Lo's 2014 acquisition of 154 stores from Delhaize America by no longer requiring the company to divest four of its Florida stores.
- The four stores originally had a buyer, Rowe's IGA, but when that company backed out of the deal, Bi-Lo struggled to find another buyer, which led to the FTC's latest modification.
- The FTC does stipulate that Bi-Lo must divest one of the four stores, Wauchula, to Sunripe Market within 30 days of the finalized modification.
Dive Insight:
The original settlement stated that Bi-Lo had to divest 12 of its stores in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina before the Delhaize acquisition could be finalized. Not long after, Bi-Lo decided to close 23 stores, both Bi-Lo and Winn Dixie, though the company planned to open 25 new and remodeled stores by the end of 2014.