By James Covert
July 20, 2015 | 8:04am
A&P has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a move that could spell the end of the 156-year-old grocery chain.
The nearly 300-store chain, confirming The Post’s exclusive report last week that such news was imminent, made the filing late Sunday in Bankruptcy Court in New York.
A&P, which also owns the Waldbaums, Food Emporium and Pathmark stores, listed assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion.
It was the second trip to bankruptcy court in less than five years for the Montvale, NJ-based company, which has been outflanked by lower cost chains like Wal-Mart stealing business at one end and higher-priced chains like Whole Foods taking away customers at the other.
The company, which employs 34,000 people, according to its website, has secured $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Fortress Credit Corp, according to court documents.
The parent, with its stores stretched across the Northeast, has already struck preliminary agreements to sell or shutter about half of its nearly 300 locations, insiders said. Prospective acquirers aren’t likely to operate many locations under their previous banners, they said.