STOP & SHOP'S PURITY PURCHASE MOVING CLOSER TO COMPLETION

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

QUINCY, Mass. -- The acquisition of Purity Supreme, North Billerica, Mass., by Stop & Shop Cos. here is expected to take place "within a matter of days," Stop & Shop officials told SN last week. Local observers said the major stumbling block to closing the deal reportedly involves the status of a Purity store in Marshfield, Mass., which the Federal Trade Commission would like Stop & Shop to divest and which the chain would prefer to retain. "Marshfield is a very good money-maker that's probably one of Purity's best bottom-line locations," a local observer said. "It's been the subject of debate between Stop & Shop and the government for quite some time." A Stop & Shop spokesperson declined comment on what's holding up a final agreement, telling SN the company has an agreement with the FTC and the Massachusetts attorney general not to

comment on any specifics of the negotiations. Stop & Shop operates 128 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York; Purity Supreme operates 55 supermarkets in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire and 66 franchised convenience stores called Li'l Peach in Massachusetts. Stop & Shop said in late April that it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Purity Supreme for about $255 million, creating a chain with a volume of $4.7 billion prior to divestments. The sale was originally expected to close during the summer, although discussions with the FTC have extended that deadline. To secure FTC approval for the acquisition, Stop & Shop is expected to agree to divest 16 to 18 stores, including units of both Stop & Shop and Purity, local sources said. "The stores to be divested are being determined by mutual agreement of Stop & Shop, the FTC and the Massachusetts attorney general," one observer told SN, "and they've already agreed on all the locations that must be divested except for Marshfield." The Purity in Marshfield is a 38,000-square-foot store that opened in 1981 and has been remodeled since, observers said.