Grocer Chain to Weigh Options

Smart & Final Inc., the City of Commerce-based operator of 250 warehouse grocery stores in the Western U.S., said late Sunday that it would hire advisors and review its options as its largest shareholder plans to sell assets.

The company, founded in downtown Los Angeles in 1871, said majority shareholder Casino Guichard-Perrachon of France planned to sell “a significant portion of its non-core assets” by the end of 2007. The French firm has not announced anything specific about its 56% stake, Smart & Final said.

Smart & Final said in a statement that it would hire legal and financial advisors. An after-hours call to a spokesman was not immediately returned.

Shares of Smart & Final rose 14 cents to $16.39 on Friday. The stock is up 32% in the last year.