A US judge has temporarily delayed the $25bn merger between retail giants Kroger and Albertsons.
Judge Andrew J. Luxen yesterday (25 July) cancelled a two-week preliminary hearing in the deal that was scheduled to start in Colorado on 12 August and granted an injunction to halt the transaction.
Instead, Luxen will oversee a two-week trial on the proposed tie-up beginning on 30 September.
A Kroger spokesperson said: “Today’s decision is welcome news as it eliminates the need for a preliminary injunction hearing in Colorado that was previously scheduled to begin 12 August. The hearing on the state’s request for a permanent injunction will go forward as scheduled on 30 September.
“We look forward to defending in court how the combination of Kroger and Albertsons will provide meaningful, measurable benefits, including lower prices and more choices for families across the country and more opportunities for stable, well-paying union jobs.”
Albertsons did not respond to a request for comment.
In February, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to block the merger of two of the largest grocers in the US.
A group of US Attorneys General and the FTC have moved to stop the deal, first announced in October 2022 and subsequently reshaped through plans for store disposals to try to gain regulatory clearance.
The FTC said the transaction would be to the detriment of the retailers’ staff and customers, arguments dismissed by Kroger and Albertsons.
The competition watchdog also insisted the plan for store disposals drawn up last September was “inadequate” and amounted to “a hodgepodge of unconnected stores, banners, brands, and other assets that Kroger’s antitrust lawyers have cobbled together”.
The date of the first preliminary hearing on the FTC suit is scheduled to take place in Oregon on 26 August. Attorneys General from eight US states, as well as the District of Columbia, have joined the FTC’s federal lawsuit.
The deal has been the subject of widespread scrutiny as lawmakers and consumer groups worried about increasing grocery prices, job cuts and closing stores.
In April, Kroger and Albertsons set out plans to sell more stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in a bid to get regulatory clearance for their retail merger.
