Cerberus Said to Be Lead Safeway Bidder After Months of Talks

Cerberus Capital Management LP is the lead bidder for Safeway Inc., the U.S. grocery chain that said this week it’s in talks to sell itself, people with knowledge of the matter said.

While other private-equity firms also have expressed interest in buying the second-largest grocery chain in the U.S., they are more interested in cherry-picking assets, people familiar with the situation have said. Safeway is not interested in selling off pieces and would prefer to be sold in its entirety, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. Cerberus would buy the entire company, the people said.