Harris Teeter Vote Gives Kroger the Green Light for 2.4 Billion Dollar Deal

<p>In a Harris Teeter shareholders' vote this morning, the retailer gave Kroger the green light for its deal to buy the North Carolina-based grocery chain. Harris Teeter shareholders approved the $2.4 billion deal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">A smaller majority, 72 percent, approved “golden parachute” compensation packages for Harris Teeter’s top executives, according to the Charlotte Observer. The compensation packages will kick in once the deal is complete.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">CEO Thomas Dickson would be eligible for a $262,500 bonus for getting the deal completed, the report states. In addition, Dickson would also be paid approximately $16 million in cash, stock and perks.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Federal regulators will still have to sign off on the acquisition, and the companies still face several shareholder suits looking to block the deal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Kroger hopes to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of this year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Dickson said Harris Teeter pursued a sale because of tightening competition in the grocery industry, with particular pressure from Walmart. He was quoted as saying, "The competitive landscape in the retail food industry has changed dramatically in the last 30 years."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/03/4361421/harris-teeter-shareholders-set.html#.Uk2kE4ZJOTg" target="_new"> Charlotte Observer</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://harristeetersupermarkets.com" target="_new">Harris Teeter</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://ir.kroger.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=106409&amp;p=irol-irhome" target="_new"> Kroger</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">