The proposed merger between supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons “floundered” on Tuesday after judges overseeing two separate cases both halted the deal, reported the Associated Press.
“U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger Tuesday after holding a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon. Later Tuesday, Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after concluding it would lessen competition in the state and violate Washington’s consumer-protection laws,” wrote AP. “Colorado is also trying to halt the merger in its own state trial.”
Kroger and Albertsons said Tuesday they are disappointed in the decisions and are reviewing their options.
The merger was first announced in October 2022 and would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history at about 4,000 stores. Kroger had promised to invest $1 billion in lowering grocery prices, an additional $1 billion in higher grocery worker wages and $1.3 billion to improve Albertsons stores.
The merger would have also affected the fueling stations at the stores. Kroger and Albertsons would have had to “sell about 10% of their combined retail fuel networks to C&S Wholesale Grocers under a divestiture plan designed to address the government's antitrust concerns over their proposed merger,” according to an OPIS analysis.
According to Dow Jones Newswires: “The plan would have a significant impact on one of the nation's largest and most competitive fuel brands. Most of the divested fuel centers are branded Safeway, part of the Albertsons network. The analysis suggests that about one in five Safeway fuel centers would be rebranded if the merger and divestiture plan go forward.”
The companies had previously released a detailed list of the stores targeted for divestiture. About 147 of the 579 stores targeted for divestiture have fuel centers. Kroger and Albertsons operate a total of 1,408 retail fuel outlets alongside supermarkets, according to their websites.