Bloomberg has a piece about yesterday’s announcement that Albertsons will acquire Rite Aid, creating a combined company worth roughly $24 billion. Here’s the relevant passage:
“Heightened competition for M&A means companies increasingly aren't getting their top pick of acquisition targets (Albertsons even approached Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. earlier last year). But that's not stopping them from scurrying in the final days of super-low interest rates to find back-up deals with the hope that scale -- at whatever the cost or of whatever type -- will keep Amazon from crushing them.
“It's a high risk. But there aren't a lot of appealing options out there, and Albertsons had largely exhausted them.”
“Heightened competition for M&A means companies increasingly aren't getting their top pick of acquisition targets (Albertsons even approached Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. earlier last year). But that's not stopping them from scurrying in the final days of super-low interest rates to find back-up deals with the hope that scale -- at whatever the cost or of whatever type -- will keep Amazon from crushing them.
“It's a high risk. But there aren't a lot of appealing options out there, and Albertsons had largely exhausted them.”
- KC's View:
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I think at this particular time, every retailer is looking for a strategy, tactic, angle or insight that will give them any sort of advantage. If this is about forging some sort of new relationship between food and health and building an approach to retail that reflects it, in much the same way that CVS has been so focused on creating a health care business using retail as a foundation, then that’s a good thing.
I guess my main concern about Albertsons-Rite Aid is that it may be a deal that primarily is about size. Sure, size is important, but I’m more convinced than ever lately that it can’t be all about size. I need to be persuaded about how this is going to be a one plus one equals three, or four, or five. I’m not there yet.
