Deals

CINCINNATI -- The chairman and chief executive of The Kroger Co. here exercised options for 35,000 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

PITTSBURGH -- Giant Eagle Inc. has finally closed on the purchase of the now defunct LeNature's Inc. bottling plant in Latrobe, Pa.

PITTSBURGH -- Giant Eagle Inc. has finally closed on the purchase of the now defunct LeNature's Inc. bottling plant in Latrobe, Pa.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Wedge Co-op, a natural and organic food cooperative with more than 13,000 member-owners based here, closed a deal to purchase Farmington, Minn.-based Gardens of Eagan, a certified organic farm.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Wedge Co-op, a natural and organic food cooperative with more than 13,000 member-owners based here, closed a deal to purchase Farmington, Minn.-based Gardens of Eagan, a certified organic farm.

LONDON -- J Sainsbury Plc, the third-largest U.K. supermarket chain, has decided to move its headquarters here to King's Cross in the north of the capital to cut costs, according to press reports. Sainsbury has been based in Holborn, central London since 2001.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Marsh Supermarkets here has retained Lakeland, Fla.-based Higgenbotham Auctioneers International Ltd. (HAI) to auction 27 surplus properties throughout Indiana and Ohio to the highest bidders. The auction¿s proceeds will help Marsh fund its ongoing store renovation and upgrading efforts.

MONTVALE, N.J. - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. here said yesterday that it and Pathmark Stores had agreed to give the Federal Trade Commission a two-week notice prior to the closing of their proposed merger, extending the effective applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act during which the two chains may not consummate the deal.