BOISE, ID - After years of speculation that grocery giant Albertsons would launch an initial public offering (IPO) that would value the company at between $1.5 and $2 billion, the company announced it has withdrawn its bid.

Rumors had swirled around a potential IPO since early 2015, with Albertsons initially filing documents that would suggest the retailer planned to fetch around $100 million through the deal. Albertsons announced, then withdrew IPO plans several times over the past three years, but our most recent update suggested that the company would postpone the deal temporarily in the midst of the attention grabbing Amazon-Whole Foods deal. The offering would have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ABS, and was bookran by Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Barclays.

In an article on MarketWatch, the source suggests that Albertsons withdrew its plans for the offering due to the retailer’s deal with Rite Aid for a merger. There has yet to be official comment from Albertsons on the company’s press website as of 10 a.m. PST.

Where will Albertsons’ growth plan take it next? AndNowUKnow will keep our fingers on the retail pulse.

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