Haggen agrees to sell stores; fate of BC site remains unknown

The fate of Haggen's Boulder City location is still unknown after the Pacific Northwest-based chain announced the sale of 36 stores late Friday.

Gelson's Markets purchased "certain assets" to eight stores in California for approximately $36 million while Smart & Final LLC agreed to purchase 28 California stores for an estimated $56 million.

Haggen also announced it has accepted bids for several noncore stores, including four in Nevada.

Albertsons put in bids for three Henderson locations — 2910 Bicentennial Parkway, 190 N. Boulder Highway and 575 College Drive — while Sprouts Farmer's Market put in a bid for Las Vegas' 7530 W. Lake Mead location.

Fifty-five bids sold for upwards of $47 million, and Haggen intends to submit the results of the auction for approval to the bankruptcy court for a hearing on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the company.

Smart & Final put in a bid to acquire the Haggen in Summerlin at 1940 Village Circle, previously owned by Vons, but the deal did not go through.

The Boulder City location is expected to close its doors at the beginning of December, and Sagent Advisors, which has been retained to coordinate the sale process, will continue to try to sell the remaining locations.

Supermarket analyst David Livingston said Saturday that the location in Boulder City "probably would not reopen."

In January, the Federal Trade Commissionannounced that Albertsons and Safeway had agreed to sell 146 stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington to Haggen as part of a $300 million deal to win U.S. antitrust approval for a merger.

Haggen filed a lawsuit over the deal on Sept. 1. The company's $1 billion lawsuit alleged Albertsons "launched its plan to gain market power" by hamstringing Haggen's ability to operate the stores successfully after taking ownership.

With the sale of the stores listed in Nevada, Albertsons will now have control of 40 stores in Southern Nevada, followed by Smith's with 28.

— Contact reporter Randy Faehnrich at rfaehnrich@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @RandyFaehnrich. The Las Vegas Review-Journal contributed to this article.