Finally, AAI questioned whether the remedy proposed by the parties – divestiture of 100-375 stores – would preserve competition. According to AAI, there is a good chance the divestiture will place the responsibility of preserving competition in the hands of an untested rival. And recent history involving Albertsons has demonstrated this is, at best, a risky proposition. To obtain FTC sign-off of its 2015 acquisition of Safeway, Albertsons agreed to divest hundreds of stores. The FTC believed this would preserve the competitive landscape. But several stores were sold to an untested rival that could not maintain them, and, ultimately, most of these stores were shuttered or reacquired by Albertsons.