BOISE, Idaho — Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons on Thursday agreed to temporarily halt their proposed merger in Colorado until a judge has considered the state’s objections.
Kroger and Albertsons announced their planned merger in October 2022. The companies say they would be better able to compete with rivals like Walmart and Costco if they merge.
But Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued to block the merger earlier this year, saying it would harm shoppers and workers by eliminating the competition that now exists between the 148 Kroger-owned groceries and 105 Albertsons-owned groceries in Colorado.
Weiser released the following statement saying:
“I am pleased that Kroger and Albertsons agreed to halt their plans to merge until the court rules on the state’s lawsuit to permanently block the grocery merger. This is great news for shoppers, workers, farmers, and other suppliers, who can rest assured that this megamerger will not go into effect during harvest season and while kids are headed back to school. The trial is set to begin on September 30 and my office looks forward to making the case that this merger will eliminate competition and impact food prices, jobs, and consumer choice.”
A judge in Denver District Court was scheduled to consider a preliminary injunction that would temporarily block the merger on Aug. 12. But on Thursday, Judge Andrew Luxen said all of the parties in the case had agreed that Kroger and Albertsons would temporarily halt their merger plans until after the court rules in the state’s case.
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Luxen will consider the state’s argument that the merger should be permanently blocked during a trial scheduled to begin Sept. 30.
The case is one of several challenging the $24.6 billion merger.
In February, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger in federal court. That lawsuit, which will proceed in Oregon, was joined by eight states and the District of Columbia. The judge in that case is scheduled to consider the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 26.
The state of Washington has also sued to block the merger.
