<p>Sobeys has announced that it has signed a consent agreement with the Canadian Competition Bureau, allowing it to proceed with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Canada Safeway.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “We are delighted to have received regulatory clearance from the Competition Bureau,” said Marc Poulin, President & CEO, Sobeys Inc. “Our focus now turns to closing the deal, which we expect to do in early November, and beginning to serve our customers in Western Canada as one company.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> As part of the consent agreement, Sobeys will divest 23 stores – 13 Canada Safeway stores and 10 Sobeys stores - across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> This news follows reports that Sobeys has reached a deal to buy Safeway stores in Western Canada for <B>$5.8 billion</b> last June. As part of the takeover, Sobeys will sell and then lease back about 4.8 million square feet of store space now owned by Safeway Canada and valued at $1.8 billion, according to the New York Times.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Sobeys said that the merging of the two chains will allow the company to save $200 million annually within three years by integrating and modernizing the two chains’ distribution networks, ultimately reducing the cost of administration, procurement and marketing, and making efficient use of Sobeys’ IT infrastructure across the new network of stories, according to CBC News.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue our coverage on Sobeys acquisition of Safeway Canada.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.sobeyscorporate.com/en/Our-Company/At-A-glance.aspx" target="_new"> Sobeys </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.safeway.com/ShopStores/Investors.page#iframetop" target="_new"> Safeway</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/safeway-to-sell-its-operations-in-canada/?ref=safewayinc&_r=0" target="_new"> New York Times </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sobeys-to-acquire-canada-safeway-stores-for-5-8b-1.1302212" target="_new"> CBC News </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
