Albertsons sues Kroger after judge blocks merger

Grocery chain Albertsons ended its $25 billion merger with Kroger, first announced in 2022, after a judge blocked it from going through.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argued that the merger would hurt consumers by limiting competition.

“We have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in a statement on Wednesday.

Albertsons sued Kroger for allegedly breaching its contract agreement. The company argued that Kroger did not take “any and all actions” to get the merger approved.

“Kroger’s self-serving conduct, taken at the expense of Albertsons and the agreed transaction, has harmed Albertsons’ shareholders, associates and consumers,” said Tom Moriarty, Albertsons’ general counsel, in a statement.