Supermarket groups Ahold and Delhaize are sellling 86 of their outlets in the US to win approval for their pending merger.

Ahold said in a statement on Thursday the stores are all located in areas where both companies are active.

The US regulator FTC is currently looking into the merger plans. The stores earmarked for disposal account for 3.2% of Ahold and Delhaize’s combined US 2015 net sales, Ahold said.

The sales are conditional on final approval for the merger being granted. The planned merger, announced just over a year ago, has now cleared all but the US regulatory hurdle, Ahold said.