PORTLAND, Ore. — Kroger and Albertsons met in court on Tuesday to plead their case on a possible merger of both grocery chains. The federal government urged a U.S. District Court judge to temporarily prevent the merger, saying it would "almost certainly" only benefit the shareholders not the shoppers themselves.
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The Lawyers for the Federal Trade Commission and for the supermarket chains gave their closing arguments after a three-week hearing on the preliminary injunction
Albertsons and Kroger argued this $24.6 billion merger would allow the companies to better compete against rivals like Walmart, Costco and Amazon.
“If we don’t do something, the corner grocery store is in real danger,” Kroger attorney Matt Wolf said.
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson will decide whether to grant the injunction. Nelson has not said when she would rule. Meantime, the FTC's anti-trust complaint will go before an in-house administrative law judge.
