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Albertsons calls off merger and sues Kroger

  • CNN
  • December 11, 2024
CNN

 — 

Grocery chain Albertsons called off its $25 billion blockbuster merger with Kroger Wednesday after a federal judge halted the deal.

"We have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement. We are deeply disappointed," Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement.

Albertsons also sued Kroger for breach of its contract agreement. Kroger did not immediately comment on the suit.

The merger, announced in 2022, sought to combine the fifth and tenth largest retailers in the country. The companies own dozens of grocery chains, including Safeway, Vons, Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer.

Supermarkets have been losing ground in recent decades to competition, and Kroger and Albertsons wanted to merge to better fight off Walmart and Amazon.

But federal judge Adrienne Nelson in Oregon said the deal would hurt competition.

In her ruling, she said that supermarkets are "distinct from other grocery retailers" and are not direct competitors to Walmart, Amazon and other companies that sell a wider range of goods. The merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between Albertsons and Kroger, potentially raising prices for consumers, she said in the ruling.