DENVER — Kroger’s $20 billion attempt to merge with Albertsons Companies Inc., hit a snag in Colorado on Wednesday as the Attorney General announced a lawsuit to block the supermarket chains from combining.
The merger was announced in October 2022 and if it were to happen, together the stores would control nearly 13% of the grocery market in the United States, the Associated Press reported. In Denver, nearly half of all grocery stores would be under one big company."A post-merger Kroger would have the ability to raise prices, pinching consumers.
Kroger's CEO said in a release the proposed merger would benefit consumers stating the company since 2003 has saved consumers $5 billion and has "consistently lowered prices and improved the customer experience during previous mergers." “This merger is bad for Washington shoppers and workers. Free enterprise is built on companies competing, and that competition benefits consumers,” said Ferguson in a news release. “Shoppers will have fewer choices and less competition, and, without a competitive marketplace, they will pay higher prices at the grocery store. That’s not right, and this lawsuit seeks to stop this harmful merger.”
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