BELLINGHAM, WA - While it has been a tumultuous several months for the Haggen chain, plans appear to be solidifying as the company steps back to center around the core stores it identified as continuing to be profitable.

The chain has been busy in court, filing motions for approval on two separate asset purchase agreements and looking for a court hearing to propose global bid procedures.

According to a press release, the company has deals for the sale of 36 stores in two stalking horse bidder agreements that it is looking to get approved. Smart & Final LLC has reportedly signed an agreement for 28 stores in both California and Nevada, while Gelson’s Markets has signed off an asset purchase agreement for an additional 8 California stores.

As for the auction, the chain reports it is looking for a hearing on October 19th, with parties interested in participating in the sale of its stores having to submit interest by October 26th. Though all dates are tentative and still subject to approval by bankruptcy court, the auction itself is slated for November 9th, with all bids having to be in by November 2nd. A hearing to consider the results of the auction on November 24th.

According to the release, a sale hearing will be held on November 13th if no auction takes place for a stalking horse package, or if one of the stalking horse bidders is the successful bidder for its package after the auction and the contracts identified in the original bid have not changed.

A complete updated list of the stores agreed to by Gelson’s and Smart & Final can be found below:

Any party interested in finding out more about the process, which the company said has been designed to be fair and transparent to maximize value, should contact Sagent Advisors, LLC at (212) 904-9400. Sagent has been retained to handle the sale process and will be able to provide more information.

Haggen