(a) No person shall acquire, directly or indirectly, any voting securities or assets of a retail grocery firm or retail drug firm unless both parties give, or in the case of a tender offer, the acquiring party gives, written notice to the Attorney General in accordance with this part.

(b) For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Acquiring party” means a person by whom or on whose behalf the merger or other acquisition of control is to be effected and is either of the following:

(A) Is required to provide notice of the merger or acquisition to the Federal Trade Commission or the United States Department of Justice pursuant to the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. § 18a).

(B) Is acquiring more than a total of 20 retail drug firms or retail grocery firms.

(2) “Retail drug firm” means a person, as defined in § 18 of the Labor Code, including a proprietorship, joint venture, corporate officer or executive, that has one or more businesses or establishments located within the state and is identified as a retail business or establishment in the North American Industry Classification System within the retail trade category 45611.

(3) “Retail grocery firm” means a person, as defined in § 18 of the Labor Code, including a proprietorship, joint venture, corporate officer or executive, that has one or more businesses or establishments located within the state and is identified as a retail business or establishment in the North American Industry Classification System within the retail trade category 44511 and 455211.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 457, Sec. 2. (AB 853) Effective January 1, 2024.)