ALAMOSA – The $25 billion proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger was blocked on Tuesday by a federal judge in Oregon, preventing the deal that would put both mega corporations under one roof from moving forward.
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ALAMOSA – The $25 billion proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger was blocked on Tuesday by a federal judge in Oregon, preventing the deal that would put both mega corporations under one roof from moving forward.
U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson granted a preliminary injunction, citing lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several attorneys general were likely to prevail in arguing that the merger violates anti-trust law.
In February of 2024, after gathering significant input from residents across the state, Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser was one of just a handful of attorneys general to file a lawsuit to block the merger.
The case has since been heard in court and Weiser is awaiting a ruling.
“I am pleased that a federal district court judge ruled that the corporate owners of King Soopers, Safeway and City Market must pause their $25 billion megamerger. Today’s ruling is a victory for consumers, workers, and farmers,” Weiser said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“All along, we have made the case that the Kroger/Albertsons merger is illegal and bad for Colorado. It is bad for grocery shoppers who are already feeling pinched at the checkout counter. It’s bad for workers and their job security and benefits. And it’s bad for farmers and other suppliers because there would be fewer local food options available at the store.
“Colorado has brought a separate case in state court to block this anticompetitive grocery merger and to challenge an illegal no-poach and no solicitation agreement between the two companies during the 2022 King Soopers strike. We wait for a ruling in our case, and we are optimistic that this illegal merger will be permanently blocked.”
The day after the ruling, Albertsons withdrew from the merger. The company then filed suit against Kroger for $600 million and an unknown number of billions in attorney fees and lost value of their stock, blaming Kroger — that is once again their competitor — for the court’s ruling.
Kroger says the claim is baseless.
