Safeway Files for Debt Securities Sale

Safeway Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell as much as $1.6 billion of debt securities, saying it may use the money to pay for pending acquisitions. The Pleasanton-based supermarket company agreed last week to buy Dominick’s Supermarkets Inc. for about $1.8 billion in cash and assumed debt. Safeway also is purchasing Carr-Gottstein Foods Co. for $330 million in cash and assumed debt. Safeway might use the proceeds to repay or refinance bank borrowings or commercial paper used to pay for the acquisitions. Other possible uses for the money include working capital, capital expenditures and other acquisitions. A shelf registration lets a company register securities in advance and sell them on a periodic basis when financing needs arise. Safeway, the second-biggest food and drug chain in the U.S., is parent of Vons Cos. Shares fell 19 cents to close at $43.56 on the NYSE.