Washington state asks a judge to block a proposed $25 billion merger between two of the nation's largest grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons, saying the new company would harm customers and raise prices. I asked for it.
a lawsuit A lawsuit filed Monday in King County Superior Court seeks to block the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, calling the merger “presumptively illegal” and saying that the two stores combined would account for “50% of the state's total supermarket sales.” It accounts for more than %.''
The lawsuit is the first formal move by regulators to block QFC and Fred Meyer's parent company Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons, which also operates Hagen and Safeway, on the grounds that it “creates a monopoly.”
“The net effect of reduced competition will be an increase in the price of supermarket food and other grocery items available to Washington customers and a likely decline in the quality of choices available to Washington consumers. ,” the complaint states.Previously reported by Seattle Times.
“This merger is bad for Washington shoppers and workers,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed.
“Free enterprise is built on competing companies, and that competition benefits consumers,” Ferguson added.
“Shoppers would have fewer choices, less competition, and without a competitive market they would pay higher prices at grocery stores. That's not right, and this lawsuit aims to stop this harmful merger. This is the purpose.”
Kroger and Albertsons have more than 300 stores in Washington, including 194 in the Seattle metropolitan area alone, making them one of the largest locations in the United States, according to court documents.
Washington and other states have previously fought over issues related to the acquisition, including a $4 billion special dividend that Cincinnati-based Kroger planned to reward shareholders of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons. had filed a lawsuit.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Illinois, filed for a preliminary injunction to block the so-called “special dividend” in 2021.
King County Superior Court Judge Ken Schubert denied the injunction, but payments are delayed because the merger is still under review.
Now, according to the Seattle Times, California is reportedly considering a merger-blocking lawsuit similar to the one Washington filed on Monday, and the Federal Trade Commission is also filing its own legal action to block the deal. It is reported that measures are being considered.
According to Monday's court filing, a Kroger and Albertsons spokesperson said the companies were “disappointed by Attorney General Ferguson's premature decision to file a lawsuit while the merger is still undergoing regulatory review.” “I am doing so,” he said.
“Blocking this merger would allow large, nonunion retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon to maintain and further strengthen their overwhelming and growing control over the grocery industry. It will only enable and strengthen this,” the spokesperson added.
“We continue to have an active and ongoing dialogue with the FTC and other state attorneys general.”
