Most of the 19 stores are in the St. Louis area

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Supervalu Inc. has agreed to sell 19 of its 36 Shop ’n Save grocery stores to Schnuck Markets Inc. Most of the stores are in the St. Louis area.

As part of the deal, Supervalu will serve as the primary supplier for nine Schnucks stores, located in Wisconsin, Iowa and northern Illinois.

Shop ’n Save, headquartered in Kirkwood, Mo., has served the St. Louis area for nearly 40 years. It employs about 2,800 associates.

“This transaction is an important step in the continued transformation of our business,” said Mark Gross, Supervalu’s president and chief executive officer. “Schnucks is an excellent retailer in the St. Louis area, and we’re pleased that these stores will become a part of their operation, including continuing to serve the communities and providing jobs to many of our employees.”

With the acquisition, Schnucks picks up 15 in-store pharmacy locations and one stand-alone pharmacy, each of which will continue to operate.

The deal also delivers prescription files at 10 other Shop ’n Save pharmacy locations that are set to be transferred to other Schnucks pharmacies in the area, the companies said on Monday in a statement announcing the sale.

Customers of the Shop ’n Save pharmacies that will close will receive detailed information on the transfer of their pharmacy files by mail within the next several days, and information will also be available at each pharmacy, according to the company statement.

Schnucks will also get four Stop ’n Save fuel centers.