Albertsons Companies has set terms of its initial public offering, seeking to sell 65.8 million shares in a range between $18 and $20 a share, Market Watch reports.

The company, which operates grocery stores under the Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco and other names as well as meal-kit company Plated, has filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ACI.

Sales last year rose to US$62.5bn from US$60.5bn in 2018, and the company earned US$466m.

The grocer said it is experiencing "momentum", giving it confidence it will "continue delivering profitable growth going forward".

The coronavirus pandemic "has significantly increased" demand for food-at-home and online sales, and the company has built up its curbside pickup and other systems that it believes "will meaningfully improve the overall customer experience and enable us to drive growth and market share," it said.

Albertsons said it was No. 1 or No. 2 by market share in most of the metropolitan areas it operates, and since the start of the pandemic has gained market share across most of its markets.

"We believe that our competitive position will continue to strengthen as a result of customer receptiveness to our response to the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the strength of our supply chain," it said.