A exterior view of the Tom Thumb grocery store on Live Oak Street, just east of downtown Dallas, April 19, 2022.Albertsons on Wednesday terminated its $25 billion merger agreement with Kroger after the U.S. District Court in Oregon and the King County Superior Court for the State of Washington“Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said.
Albertsons is seeking billions of dollars in damages along with the $600 million termination fee. Kroger did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.“Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said.
Two different courts blocked the deal on Tuesday, siding with the Federal Trade Commission, which moved to stop the deal, and argued in a trial that the merger would eliminate competition between the traditional grocery chains, causing higher prices and reducing leverage for unionized workers. The deal became a symbol of surging grocery costs. U.S. food prices have risen by 25% over the last four years, and while food inflation is showing signs of cooling in 2024, grocery bills remain a concern for shoppers.The FTC sued along with attorneys general from eight states and the District of Columbia. Colorado, like Washington, sued on its own to block the deal.
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