Two Spokane-area supermarkets are expected to change hands as part of a divestiture related to Kroger Co.'s planned $24.6 billion acquisition of Boise-based Albertsons Companies Inc. 

C&S Wholesale Grocers LLC plans to acquire Safeway-brand stores at 2509 E. 29th, on Spokane's South Hill, and at 14020 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley, as part of the broader $2.9 billion acquisition in which it buy a total of 579 stores in 18 states and Washington, D.C., from Kroger and Albertsons. Of those, 124 stores are in Washington state, making it the state with the largest number of stores expected to be shed. 

The store divestiture is intended to allay antitrust concerns raised by federal regulators and state attorneys general, including Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Kroger, which is based in Cincinnati, announced plans to sell the supermarkets in April, but only recently released the list of specific stores that will be included in the transaction.