Some expressed concern that the transaction would lead to higher food prices in an already-concentrated grocery store market.
“The companies assure us that this is the merger that will make everything better,” Lee said during a hearing in Washington with the two CEOs, noting that the duo pledged to reduce prices and update stores. “Of course, they haven’t explained how we can be sure that these commitments will actually be fulfilled.”
“This merger will enhance competition, lower prices, improve the customer experience and create investments in our associates while securing the long-term future of union jobs,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said during the hearing. The merger partners have said they expect to close the deal in early 2024, but the outcome of a potentially lengthy antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission remains far from certain. Under Chair Lina Khan, who is pursuing an aggressive antitrust agenda, the FTC has taken a dim view of mergers that require extensive divestitures, as is expected in the Kroger-Albertsons deal.
In announcing the deal, Kroger and Albertsons said they would divest as many as 375 stores to win regulatory approval, although Kroger suggested in a federal filing that 650 was the upper limit. The companies operate a combined total of almost 5,000 stores. For comparison, Walmart has about 5,300 in the U.S., including its Sam’s Club warehouse locations.
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