Will The Kroger Co. (KR) Put Another Acquisition in Its Shopping Cart?

Published on July 29, 2013 at 4:49 pm by The Motley Fool in News

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Of the three, however, I see Ahold as perhaps the best bet. It sold its stake in a Swedish grocery chain for $3.1 billion, but it’s expanding its presence in the U.S. and likes to buy local stores to do so. That would mesh well with the image of A&P and would seem a good fit. Ahold was also thought of as a potential buyer of Harris Teeter before The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) stepped in, so buying A&P might be a worthy complement to its Stop & Shop chain, which also has a heavy presence in the Northeast. It might allow it to keep the best of the stores going while shedding the dreck that still remains in the 300-plus-store chain.

Kroger’s getting a lot of headline play out of the speculation, but I don’t see it as the ultimate winner here.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape.

The article Will Kroger Put Another Acquisition in Its Shopping Cart? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of SUPERVALU.