Supervalu to sell Save-A-Lot chain

Supervalu said Monday that it is selling its Save-A-Lot discount supermarket chain for $1.37 billion to Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp.

Save-A-Lot operates 16 Baltimore-area stores, mostly in the city, but also in Arbutus, Dundalk, Edgewood, Essex and Havre de Grace.

The deal is expected to close before the end of January.

“Save-A-Lot provides its customers with measurable savings and is differentiated among its competitors in a growing segment of the industry,” said Matt Ross, a managing director with Onex, in the announcement of the deal. “We are excited to partner with the management team at Save-A-Lot, along with its licensed store owners, to enhance the company’s operations and support its growth for years to come.”

There are more than 1,300 Save-A-Lot grocery stores in 37 states as well as the Bahamas, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago. The Missouri-based chain was founded in 1977, rapidly growing to more than 1,000 stores, and acquired by Supervalu in 1994.

Supervalu, an Eden Prairie, Minn., distributor of grocery items and service provider for supermarkets, first announced plans to sell off Save-A-Lot last year to focus on developing its distribution business.The company also owns the Shop ’N Save and Cub Foods chains.

“As an independent company, we can more effectively focus on our growth and operating objectives,” Eric Claus, Save-ALot’s CEO, said in a statement.

Supervalu said it signed a five-year deal with Save-A-Lot to provide cloud technology, as well as payroll, finance and merchandising technology services. The company said it will use some of the money from the sale to pay down debt.