The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. won bankruptcy-court approval for the sale of eight grocery stores Thursday, part of its ongoing effort to find buyers and complete sales for more than 100 unsold stores, the Wall Street Journal reported today. During a hearing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., Judge Robert Drain approved deals to hand off the eight stores to CVS Pharmacy, Food Emporium, PSK Supermarket Inc. and others. Motions to sell seven additional stores, some of which face objections from local unions, were adjourned to another hearing later this month. To date, the company has lined up buyers for about 190 of its nearly 300 stores, most of which have also already won court approval. Those sales include terms that seek to save about 17,000 jobs but leave many thousands more in jeopardy. A&P says that it is still working with its unions and new store owners to preserve as many jobs as possible.
