A&P, Pathmark Stores File First Amended Proxy Statement

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company [A&P] (GAP) has file the first amended proxy statement for the Pathmark Stores Inc. (PTMK) merger with the SEC.

Shareholder meeting details are still not provided in the current proxy statement.

Regarding the HSR review, the proxy simply notes that compliance was certified on July 13:

On July 13, 2007, AP and Pathmark each certified substantial compliance with the Federal Trade Commission in response to the Second Requests. AP and Pathmark will cooperate in this and any other agency reviews and work to resolve any objections to the merger asserted on antitrust grounds. There can be no assurance, however, that a challenge to the merger on antitrust grounds will not be made or, if such a challenge is made, that it would not be successful.

As discussed previously, the HSR process is fully expected to proceed smoothly with the compliance, and will very likely result in a formal consent decree by mid-August. Presumably, the companies are currently placing more resources on the proxy statement, which should translate into SEC clearance within the next week or two. Naturally, the final proxy will need to come up within the next few days in order to schedule the shareholder meetings before the end of August. In other words, it is very likely that the deal's close will occur in early/mid-September, given the two remaining regulatory processes.

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