UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 8, 2018

Albertsons Companies, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

(208) 395-6200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

          Emerging growth company   ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

The information set forth in Item 1.02 of this Form 8-K is incorporated herein by reference.

As previously disclosed, on February 18, 2018, Albertsons Companies, Inc. (“Albertsons” or the “Company”), its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Ranch Acquisition II LLC and Ranch Acquisition Corp. (together with Ranch Acquisition II LLC, “Merger Subs”) and Rite Aid Corporation (“Rite Aid”) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”). On August 8, 2018, Albertsons, Merger Subs and Rite Aid entered into a Termination Agreement (the “Termination Agreement”) under which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Merger Agreement. Subject to limited customary exceptions, the Termination Agreement also mutually releases the parties from any claims of liability to one another relating to the contemplated merger transaction. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, neither Albertsons nor Rite Aid will be responsible for any payments to the other party as a result of the termination of the Merger Agreement.

The foregoing descriptions of the Merger Agreement and Termination Agreement are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by the terms and conditions of the full text of the Merger Agreement, which was previously filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by Albertsons Companies, LLC on February 20, 2018, and the full text of the Termination Agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1, each of which is incorporated by reference herein.

In addition, as result of the above termination, that certain Second Amended & Restated Commitment Letter, dated May 8, 2018, by and among the Company, Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Credit Suisse AG, Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank USA and the other commitment parties thereto terminated automatically pursuant to its terms.

On August 8, 2018, Albertsons issued a press release announcing the termination of the Merger Agreement. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by reference.

Important Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements contain information about future operating or financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and assumptions about market conditions and its future operating performance which we believe to be reasonable at this time. The words “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions (including assumptions about general economic, market, industry and operational factors), known or unknown, which could cause the actual results to vary materially from those indicated or anticipated. A further list and description of risks and uncertainties can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 24, 2018 filed with the SEC and other documents that the Company may file or furnish with the SEC, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date they were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made except as required by law or applicable regulation.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.