A&P files for Chapter 11 once again

NEW YORK — Grocery store operator A&P is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to sell off stores as it faces increasingly tough competition.

This marks the second time in five years that the Montvale, N.J.-based company has filed for bankruptcy. This time around, it said it has more than 100,000 creditors along with more than $1 billion in liabilities and over $1 billion in assets.

The company plans to sell as many of its 296 stores as possible and said in a filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that it has bidders for 120 of those operations with expected proceeds of $600 million.

The grocery chain has faced tougher competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., which have expanded their grocery options.

The company’s formal name is the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.

It was formed in 1859 as The Great American Tea Co. and renamed to its current form in 1869.

A&P operates in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland under various names, including PathMark and Waldbaum’s.