In March 2014, Cerberus Capital Management (which also owns rival grocery chain Albertsons) agreed to terms to purchase Vons' parent, Safeway. Cerberus' plans to merge the chains would likely result in store closures, especially with both Vons and Albertsons having a significant presence in Southern California. In late 2014, the FTC mandated that the new Albertson's/Safeway merger sell off almost 200 stores to allow for sufficient competition in markets where both Safeway and Albertson's stores had existed in price rivalry. One of the key buyers was Bellingham, Washington-based Haggen grocers which rebranded the newly purchased stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Nevada in early 2015 only to sell back the affected stores just months later after Haggen was forced into bankruptcy as a result of purchasing the new stores. Haggen was soon after acquired by Albertson's.