FTC Green Lights Food Lion’s Purchase of 62 Bi-Lo, Harveys Stores

Food Lion is moving forward with its previously announced plans to purchase 62 Bi-Lo/Harveys Supermarket stores from Southeastern Grocers after completing one of the conditions of closing the transaction.

As required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion filed a report notifying the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the planned acquisition. The FTC granted early termination of the waiting period under the act, allowing Food Lion to move forward with recruitment efforts for the new stores. Food Lion said in a release that it expects to hire more than 4,650 associates.

“We are thrilled to move forward to add these new locations to our more than 630 existing stores across Georgia and the Carolinas,” Food Lion President Meg Ham said in a release. “Nourishing our neighbors with fresh, quality products at affordable prices is core to everything we do. We look forward to opening these stores early next year and welcoming our neighbors in these towns and cities into their new Food Lion.”

The stores will remain open as Bi-Lo and Harveys Supermarket until the transaction is complete, which is expected to take place over a staggered period from January to April 2021, pending customary closing requirements. Food Lion, which has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, plans to operate all the stores under the Food Lion banner.