The Jim Pattison Group-owned Overwaitea Food Group will take over 15 grocery stores in B.C. and Alberta from Sobeys Inc. as part of the latter firm’s blockbuster $5.8-billion purchase of Canada Safeway last June, the companies announced Thursday.

Federal competition regulators ruled that Nova Scotia-based Sobeys had to sell off 23 of Safeway’s 223 stores to prevent undue restriction of competition, particularly on Vancouver Island. On Thursday, Sobeys said it will sell 29 stores for $430 million, with Overwaitea picking up 15 of the locations.

Overwaitea president Darrell Jones wouldn’t disclose financial terms of its acquisitions, but said the deal doubles its store count on Vancouver Island in one move, which would have been a difficult task to achieve by opening one store at a time.

“These are communities that we’re familiar with (and) it was a perfect fit for the Overwaitea Food Group,” Jones said.

Overwaitea will pick up 10 former Safeway locations, two Sobeys and three former Thrifty Foods stores, which is already a Sobeys subsidiary, including eight on Vancouver Island, with three of those in Victoria. In the Lower Mainland, Overwaitea will take over the Tsawwassen and Royal City Safeway and the New Westminster and Abbotsford Thriftys.

Three of the stores are in Alberta — Sobeys locations in Cochrane and Canmore and a Safeway in Fort McMurray.

Jones said 14 will be rebranded under Overwaitea’s Save-On-Foods banner, one will become a Cooper’s Foods, and they plan to keep all 1,500 of their employees.

Sobeys said the other 14 stores located in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg will be sold to Federated Co-operative Ltd. Combined, Sobeys said the total list of stores generated annual sales about $690 million and generated operating profits of $59 million.

depenner@vancouversun.com

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