Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway Inc. has announced that it plans to file a registration statement in the U.S. for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of a minority ownership stake in Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. Depending on market conditions, the company anticipates executing a transaction in the first half of 2013.
A news release says that it (the news release) does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, which will be made only by prospectus.
Blackhawk Network Holdings is subsidiary of Safeway and operates Blackhawk Network Inc., a leading prepaid payments network for consumers and businesses. The company offers the industry’s most popular prepaid gift cards and payment services from leading brands through a network of leading grocery stores, big box, convenience, pharmacy, specialty stores and internet retailers including GiftCardMall.com, the news release says. Blackhawk operates a proprietary network that connects to more than 500 content providers and more than 70,000 active retail distribution locations globally.
Safeway is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates 1,666 stores in the U.S. and western Canada and had annual sales of $43.6 billion in 2011.
