A U.S. District judge in Los Angeles...

A U.S. District judge in Los Angeles cleared the way for American Stores Co. of Irvine to sell 37 Alpha Beta and Lucky grocery outlets, a move that the chain intends to take at once. U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon issued the one-paragraph ruling. Attorneys on both sides of the issue characterized Kenyon’s action as a procedural blip in the $2.5-billion Alpha Beta and Lucky merger saga. In May, the Federal Trade Commission tentatively approved American’s plan to acquire Lucky Stores and merge the chain with its own Alpha Beta outlets. But the agency required American to sell 37 stores as a condition of its approval.