A&P filed for bankruptcy yesterday — a move that could transfer control over the struggling grocer to Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle.

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The 150-year-old supermarket chain — which has shrunk drastically in recent years from its heyday more than 50 years ago, when it was among the biggest companies in the US — was a victim of fierce competition from fast-growing rivals including warehouse clubs and big discounters like Wal-Mart.
Nevertheless, A&P’s bankruptcy filing — smack-dab in the middle of the holiday shopping season — took some industry insiders by surprise, with some blaming a recent tiff between A&P and its biggest supplier, C&S Wholesale Grocers.

The bankruptcy filing could allow Burkle — a savvy investor who has made his fortune in the supermarket industry — to wrest control of A&P from the German-based Tengelmann family, which has been a major investor in the company for decades.
As reported by The Post on Saturday, Burkle recently has scooped up “a lot or most of” A&P’s secured debt obligations, whose face value exceeds $250 million. A&P’s total debt is more than $1 billion.
Last month, A&P announced an $89.8 million sale-leaseback of six stores. A&P said in August it will close 25 stores in five states as part of a turnaround plan.
Officially known as the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, A&P operates chains including Food Emporium and Waldbaum’s.
Based in Montvale, NJ, A&P listed assets of more than $1 billion as it filed for Chapter 11 in US Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, NY.
NYP