Thanks to volatility in food prices, Albertsons LLC's reported eye on a merger with Sprouts Farmers Market Inc could be a golden opportunity for the bigger chain to add the organic grocer to a business that currently includes Safeway stores, analysts said Tuesday.“Could be an opportunistic move by Albertson's,” said BMO Capital Markets, which called Albertsons' overtures (first reported by Bloomberg) “one of the most differentiated concepts in U.S. food retail.”Downgrade JustificationBMO, which downgraded Sprouts to Market Perform, said the produce-heavy Sprouts had hit a rough patch because of “extreme produce deflation.”“We believe this move by Albertsons, if accurate, could debunk the popular short thesis on SFM that its produce-led promotional strategy was flawed and easily replicated by traditional supermarkets,” BMO said.Source