A&P has filed for bankruptcy, a move that could transfer control over the struggling grocer to Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle.

The 150-year-old supermarket chain — which has shrunk drastically in recent years from its heyday more than 50 years ago, when it was among the biggest companies in the US — was a victim of fierce competition from fast-growing rivals including warehouse clubs and big discounters like Wal-Mart.

The bankruptcy filing could allow Burkle — who has made his fortune in the supermarket industry — to wrest control of A&P from the German-based Tengelmann family, which has been a major investor in the company for decades. Burkle recently has scooped up “a lot or most of” A&P’s secured debt obligations, whose face value exceeds $250 million. A&P’s total debt is more than $1 billion.

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