Dive Brief:

• Safeway is implementing "poison pill" plans to discourage a feared hostile takeover.
• The takeover fears were triggered after an unnamed investor acquired a significant amount of the company's stock, and the Tuesday announcement drove the company's stock price soaring to a five-year high.
• The grocer is letting shareholders acquire additional stock at a discounted rate, with its defensive plan becoming actionable once a person or group holds 10% or more of its common stock or 15% by an institutional investor.

Dive Insight:

With an estimated $34.3 billion in sales last year and 1,400 locations nationwide, Safeway is the fourth largest food and beverage retailer in the U.S. and any takeover or acquisition would have a significant impact on the space. Still, the food retail sector has been no stranger to shake-ups of late with No. 2 U.S. food and beverage retailer Kroger scooping up Harris Teeter and Publix's recently announced acquisition of BI-LO.