Owners of Fred Meyer and Safeway grocery chains propose massive $24.6 billion merger

  • 📰 adndotcom
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 70 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 63%

Business News News

Business Business Latest News,Business Business Headlines

Kroger Co. has agreed to buy Albertsons Cos. in a deal that is sure to face tough antitrust scrutiny by the Biden administration.

In this Wednesday, May 19, 2021, photograph, a shopper wearing a face covering uses a cart to wheel his purchases to a vehicle at a Safeway grocery store in Aurora, Colo. Many workers in retail sales jobs who are fully vaccinated are now concerned about risks posed as retailers change their mask-wearing policies for customers.

The proposed tie-up gives rise to a grocery giant with increased buying power and an opportunity to save on costs as brick-and-mortar retailers invest heavily to enhance their online offerings. While the deal would create a beefed-up competitor to Walmart and other rivals, it’s sure to face tough antitrust scrutiny as U.S. regulators under President Joe Biden cast a more skeptical eye on big mergers.

The combination ranks among the retail industry’s biggest transactions in years, evoking such deals as’s purchase of Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion and the $9.8 billion acquisition of Albertsons itself in 2006 by CVS Health Corp., Supervalu and an investment group led by Cerberus Capital Management. The New York-based private equity firm still owns almost 30% of Albertsons, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The transaction is likely to face a lengthy antitrust review with an uncertain outcome. Kroger and Albertsons both have strong footprints on the West Coast, as well as in Colorado, Illinois and parts of Texas. That’s because cost savings from many mergers have been eroded by tough competition in a relatively fragmented industry. The Kroger-Albertsons deal may be a hint that the companies believe that this time is different after years of mergers that have given top players in the grocery business greater market share.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Kroger is trash.

I’m pretty sure the Shadowrun trilogy is still on XboxGamePass. ;)

'sure to face tough antitrust scrutiny by the Biden administration.'

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 293. in BUSİNESS

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Kroger, rival Albertsons in talks for massive grocery merger - Dallas Business JournalKroger Co. is in talks with one of its biggest rivals about a merger that would combine the two largest U.S. operators of traditional supermarkets, according to multiple media reports.
Source: DallasBizNews - 🏆 525. / 51 Read more »