Announced Action for September 18, 1996

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the following actions. The FTC staff contact is Dan Ducore, 202-326-2526.

Application for prior approval of transaction: The FTC has received an application for prior approval of a transaction from the following. The application will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until Oct. 18.

• The Vons Companies, Inc. (Vons), has applied for prior approval of the purchase of a closed supermarket in Grover Beach, California, from Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc. Prior approval of the purchase is required under a 1992 consent order settling charges that Vons’ acquisition of San Luis Obispo supermarkets from a competitor -- the Williams Bros. Markets -- and its sale of an existing supermarket in San Luis Obispo for conversion to a drug store reduced market capacity and increased Vons market share, in violation of antitrust laws. The 1992 order requires Vons to obtain FTC approval before acquiring any supermarket in San Luis Obispo County, as well as in certain other instances for acquisitions elsewhere. Grover Beach is in San Luis Obispo County. In its application, Vons states that as a result of a consent settlement it reached with the State of California, pursuant to which Vons has agreed to sell its store in Pismo Beach, California to Scolari’s of California, the state, which had previously blocked the sale of the Grover Beach store to Vons, would now allow the sale under specified conditions. (see Aug.13, 1992 and May 29, 1996 news releases for more details regarding the consent order; Docket No. C 3391.)

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, at the same address; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC’s World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov