Federal judge blocks Kroger’s $25 billion mega-merger with Albertsons

A federal judge in Oregon blocked Kroger’s proposed $25 billion tie-up with Albertsons, ruling that the largest merger in US supermarket history would limit competition and harm consumers.

A federal judge in Oregon blocked Kroger’s proposed $25 billion tie-up with Albertsons, ruling that the largest merger in US supermarket history would limit competition and harm consumers. 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. Kroger and Albertsons employ mostly unionized workforces and said they wanted to merge to be more competitive against non-union giants such as Walmart, Amazon and Costco. The grocers also face increased pressure from Aldi, the fast-growing German discount supermarket chain. The merger would accelerate “our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said when the deal was announced in 2022. Kroger committed to lowering grocery prices by $1 billion following the merger. But Judge Adrienne Nelson rejected that argument. 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, she said in the ruling. The proposal came as food prices skyrocketed and met stiff opposition. Unions, small grocers and a coalition of Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, also strongly opposed the merger from the start.