Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announces the filing of a lawsuit to block the Kroger/Albertsons merger on the basis of eliminating competition during a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Denver. After a yearlong investigation, the suit was filed in Denver district court to block the $24.6-billion proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, which are two of the largest supermarket chains in Colorado. Denver District Court Judge Andrew J.
Weiser, following a months-long investigation, argued that the $24.6 billion merger of the nation’s second- and third-largest grocery store chains would eliminate competition and harm shoppers, workers and suppliers in Colorado, where Kroger and Albertsons control the first- and second-largest grocery chains.
Colorado sought a preliminary injunction to either stop the combination until its case was heard or a ruling that required the two companies to divest enough stores in Colorado to restore competition as existed before the proposed merger.At the time of the complaint, Kroger had 148 stores under the King Soopers and City Market brands in Colorado and Albertsons operated 105 stores under the Albertson and Safeway brands.
Their lawyers argued in the motion that Weiser’s effort to stop the merger was “overbroad” in that it sought to address reduced competition in Colorado by stopping what was a combination involving operations in multiple states. The motion argued Colorado was seeking to unconstitutionally interfere in the trade relations of other states and was seeking to supersede federal authority.
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