The proposed merger between supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons floundered on Tuesday after judges overseeing two separate cases both halted the merger. US District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger Tuesday after holding a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon, the AP reports. Later Tuesday, Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after concluding that it would lessen competition in the state.
Kroger and Albertsons in 2022 proposed what would be the largest grocery store merger in US history. But the Federal Trade Commission sued earlier this year, asking Nelson to block the $24.6 billion deal until an in-house administrative judge at the FTC could consider the merger's implications. Nelson agreed to pause the merger. "Any harms defendants experience as a result of the injunction do not overcome the strong public interest in the enforcement of antitrust law, especially given the difficulty in disentangling a premature merger," she wrote in her opinion.
Federal regulators argue that combining the two chains would be bad for consumers and workers by eliminating competition. The companies say a merger would help them better compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon. The case may now move to the FTC, although Kroger and Albertsons have asked a different federal judge to block the in-house proceedings. Colorado and Washington are also trying to halt the merger in ongoing state trials.
- Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,800 stores in 35 states, including brands like Ralphs, Smith's, and Harris Teeter. Albertsons , based in Boise, Idaho, operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands like Safeway, Jewel Osco, and Shaw's. Together, the companies employ around 710,000 people.
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