Economy Albertsons sues Kroger after Oregon, Washington judges block $24.6 billion merger

On Wednesday, the day after a federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington blocked a merger between two supermarket giants, Albertsons canceled the $24.6 billion merger agreement and sued Kroger.

The grocery chain, which owns 24 Albertsons locations and 97 Safeway stores in Oregon, sued Kroger in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging the larger grocer didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval for its 2022 agreement to buy Kroger.

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by seven states including Oregon and the District of Columbia, sued to block the merger in U.S. District Court in Oregon earlier this year, and a federal judge in Portland temporarily halted the merger Tuesday. A state judge in Washington state also blocked the merger from proceeding there. Both judges agreed with federal regulators and state attorneys general that the merger would lead to reduced competition and harm both customers and grocery workers — customers with higher prices and lower-quality goods and workers with lower pay.

The complaint Albertsons filed in the Delaware court isn’t yet public, but the company said in a press release that Kroger “willfully breached” the merger agreement by ignoring feedback from regulators, refusing to divest assets needed for antitrust approval or find stronger buyers for divested assets and failing to cooperate with Albertsons.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/12/11/albertsons-sues-kroger-after-oregon-washington-judges-block-24-6-billion-merger/