Timothy Inklebarger, Editor | December 10, 2024
The grocery chains still await decisions in Washington and Colorado cases
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a temporary injunction Tuesday that effectively blocked the proposed $24.6 billion merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons.
The decision was released less than an hour before a decision was expected to be handed down in a similar antitrust case in Washington.
The Oregon lawsuit was filed in late February by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from eight states and the District of Columbia.
“Both defendants gestured toward a future in which they would not be able to compete against ever-growing Walmart, Amazon, or Costco. Without the scale afforded by the merger, defendants argue, it will be more difficult for traditional supermarkets to survive in the long term,” Nelson wrote in the decision. “The overarching goals of antitrust law are not met, however, by permitting an otherwise unlawful merger in order to permit firms to compete with an industry giant.”
Nelson said the preliminary injunction “in no way forces them” to abandon the case, but industry analysts have speculated that such an injunction would bring the merger effort to an end.
“An injunction simply pauses the merger. Any harms defendants experience as a result of the injunction do not overcome the strong public interest in the enforcement of antitrust law, especially given the difficulty in disentangling a premature merger,” Nelson wrote.
A decision is still expected in the Washington case today. It’s still uncertain when a decision will come from the third antitrust case in Colorado.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Timothy Inklebarger, link to story: HERE