(a) The written notice shall be filed with the Attorney General no less than 180 days before the acquisition is made effective. The notice shall be made under oath or affirmation, and shall comply with the requirements of subdivision (c).

(b) If any transaction requiring written notice pursuant to this subdivision commences before the effective date of this section, the written notice shall be given to the Attorney General within 30 days before the transaction is made effective. Upon receiving notice, the Attorney General has 180 days to evaluate the transaction, during which time the effective date of the transaction shall be tolled. If any material change occurs in the facts set forth in the written notice filed with the Attorney General, an amendment setting forth the change and copies of all documents and other material relevant to the change shall be filed with the Attorney General within two business days after the amendment is made by, or provided to, the acquiring party.

(c) The notice required to be given to the Attorney General shall comply with either of the following:

(1) If the acquiring party is required to file notice with the Federal Trade Commission or the United States Department of Justice pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. § 18a), the notice shall contain the same form and additional documentary material required under that act and any implementing regulations under that act.

(2) If the acquiring party is not required to file notice with the Federal Trade Commission or the United States Department of Justice, as specified in paragraph (1), the notice shall contain all of the following information:

(A) The name and address of each acquiring party and a report of the nature of its business operations during the past five years or for a lesser period if the person and their predecessors have been in existence less than five years.

(B) An informative description of the business intended to be done by the person and the person’s subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, documents concerning its business or corporate structure, governance, or management.

(C) A list of all individuals who are or have been selected to become directors or executive officers or who perform or will perform functions appropriate to the positions.

(D) The source, nature, and amount of the consideration used or to be used in effecting the merger or other acquisition of control, a description of any transaction in which funds were or are to be obtained, including any pledge of the drug or grocery retail firm’s stock or the stock of any of its subsidiaries or controlling affiliates, and the identity of persons furnishing the consideration. If a source of the consideration is a loan made in the lender’s ordinary course of business, the identity of the lender shall remain confidential upon request of the person filing the statement.

(E) Fully audited financial information as to the earnings and financial condition of each acquiring party for the preceding five fiscal years or for a lesser period if the acquiring party and its predecessors have been in existence for less than five years, and similar unaudited information as of a date not earlier than 90 days before the written notice.

(F) Any plans or proposals that an acquiring party may have to liquidate the retail grocery or retail drug firms, to sell its assets or merge or consolidate it with any person, or to make any other material change in its business or corporate structure or management.

(G) The information required to assess the competitive effects of the proposed acquisition, giving particular attention to the effects on the proposed chain retail grocery store acquisition on consumers, including, but not limited to, consumer choice, food pricing, access to food, and food deserts, and factors affecting the supply of experienced grocery workers, including wages, benefits, and unemployment and chain retail pharmacy on patients, including, but not limited to, patient choice, medicine pricing, access to medications, and factors affecting the supply of licensed pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacists-in-charge.

(H) Information required to assess the economic and community impact of any planned divestiture or store closures, including, but not limited to, the impact on food deserts, food supply, economic mobility, unemployment, and small businesses.

(d) The Attorney General shall charge the acquiring party a filing fee for the cost to the Attorney General to receive, review, and analyze any notice under this section, which shall not exceed the reasonable regulatory costs to the Attorney General incident to performing its administrative duties under this section. The fee shall be based on the size of the transaction as of the date of the filing of the notice, but shall not exceed .00045 percent of the combined sales of the parties to the merger or acquisition for the fiscal year prior to the filing of the notice.

(e) The Attorney General may use the notice, documents, and information disclosed under to this section in a judicial action in state or federal court or an administrative action involving the merger or acquisition.

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