FTC approves final order, requiring parent of Tops, Price Chopper to sell 12 Tops stores

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday approved a final order requiring that the parent company of Tops Markets and Price Chopper/Market 32 sell 12 Tops stores following their merger.

The FTC vote was 4-0 and followed a public-comment period.

The final order settles charges that the merger of the supermarket operators “would likely be anticompetitive” in 11 markets across upstate New York and Vermont, the FTC said.

The companies involved are the Golub Corp., which owns Price Chopper/Market 32, and Tops Market Corp.

The complaint alleged that the merger as proposed was “likely to substantially lessen competition for the sale of grocery products” in the New York communities of Cooperstown, Cortland, Oneida, Owego, Norwich, Warrensburg, Lake Placid, Rome, Watertown, and Plattsburgh; and in Rutland, Vermont.

Under the order, the supermarket operators will divest one supermarket in each market except for Watertown, where they will divest two.

In its Nov. 8 announcement about the deal’s completion, Northeast Grocery, Inc. (NGI), the new parent company, had indicated the merger deal included the sale of 12 Tops locations. That stipulation, the firm noted, was part of the FTC’s regulatory-review process.

Keene, New Hampshire–based C&S Wholesale Grocers (C&S) has been approved to acquire all 12 Tops stores.

The FTC’s final order requires the parties to obtain the prior approval of the FTC before selling or acquiring supermarkets in the affected markets. The order also requires C&S Wholesale Grocers to obtain the approval of the FTC before selling any of the assets it is acquiring in this divestiture.

GU Markets LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, will operate the affected stores. C&S will continue to recognize the union workforce at these locations. The 12 Tops stores to be divested and purchased by C&S Wholesale Grocers are in the following locations, per NGI’s Nov. 8 news release:

Cooperstown — 5 Commons Drive

Cortland — 3932 State Route 281

Norwich — 54 E Main St.

Owego — 1145 NY-17C

Rome — 217 Erie Blvd. W.

Saranac Lake — 156 Church St.

Sherrill — 87 E State St.

South Watertown — 1330 Washington St.

Watertown — 22050 Seaway Shopping Ctr.

Rutland (Jefferson County) — 14 N. Main St.

Peru (Clinton County) — 50 S. Main St.

Warrensburg (Warren County) — 3836 Main St.