A Denver District Court judge has stopped the Kroger-Albertsons merger in its tracks, cancelling a planned Aug. 12 hearing and setting a trial date of Sept. 30, 2024. The proposed $24.6 billion merger, first announced in October 2022, has been challenged by Colorado’s and eight other state Attorneys General, the United Food and Commercial Workers union as well as the Federal Trade Commission, which voted to block the merger in February 2024.
“I am pleased that Kroger and Albertsons agreed to halt their plans to merge until the court rules on the state’s lawsuit to permanently block the grocery merger,” said Phil Weiser, Attorney General of Colorado in a statement. “This is great news for shoppers, workers, farmers and other suppliers, who can rest assured that this mega-merger will not go into effect during harvest season and while kids are headed back to school. The trial is set to begin on September 30, and my office looks forward to making the case that this merger will eliminate competition and impact food prices, jobs and consumer choice.”
A Kroger spokesperson quoted by Reuters said that “today’s decision is welcome news as it eliminates the need for a preliminary injunction hearing in Colorado.”
Earlier this month, Kroger and Albertsons identified the 579 supermarkets they plan to sell to C&S Wholesale Grocers if the merger goes through.
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