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đź”´ PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Albertsons
grocery · Boise, ID
PE Firm
Cerberus Capital Management
Year Acquired
2006
“Cerberus bought it for $350M, loaded it with debt, and tried to cash out $4 billion.”
The PE Playbook
- •Cerberus paid just $350M for 655 stores in 2006, then grew via highly leveraged acquisitions — absorbing $3.2B in SuperValu debt and $8B for the Safeway deal
- •Extracted at least $350M in fees and dividends while maintaining debt-to-earnings ratio more than double its competitors
- •Attempted a $4B special dividend in 2022 — $1B earmarked for Cerberus alone — blocked by court order
- •The Kroger merger was rejected by regulators in 2024, leaving the debt-laden grocery chain in PE limbo