BOISE, Idaho — The proposed merger between Boise-based Albertsons grocery and Cincinnati-headquartered Kroger is hitting a roadblock.
On Monday, Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court to block the proposed merger. In a release, Ferguson claims if the two largest supermarket companies in Washington state combined, “it would severely limit shopping options for consumers and eliminate vital competition that keeps grocery prices low.”
Kroger and Albertsons are the second and fourth largest supermarket operators in the country with more than 700,000 employees in nearly 5,000 stores across 49 states.
“This merger is bad for Washington shoppers and workers,” Ferguson said. “Free enterprise is built on companies competing, and that competition benefits consumers. Shoppers will have fewer choices and less competition, and, without a competitive marketplace, they will pay higher prices at the grocery store. That’s not right, and this lawsuit seeks to stop this harmful merger.”
More than half of all supermarkets in Washington state are currently owned by either Kroger or Albertsons, and they account for more than 50% of all supermarket sales in the state.
In late August 2023, the companies proposed to sell off 413 stores nationwide to diminish concerns about the new combined company’s market dominance, but Ferguson doesn’t believe that plan does enough to maintain healthy competition.
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Ferguson’s lawsuit asks the court to find that the merger violates Washington antitrust law, and to issue an injunction permanently blocking the merger nationwide.
In a joint Kroger-Albertsons statement they said, "We are disappointed in Attorney General Ferguson’s premature decision to file a lawsuit while the merger is still under regulatory review. We remain in active and ongoing dialogue with the FTC and the other state Attorneys General.The merging parties will vigorously defend this in court because we care deeply about our customers and the communities we serve, and this merger will result in the best outcomes for Washington consumers. Blocking this merger would only serve to strengthen larger, non-unionized retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, by allowing them to maintain and increase their overwhelming and growing dominance of the grocery industry. In contrast, Kroger and Albertsons Companies merging will bring lower prices to more customers, strengthen and create good-paying union jobs, and bring more fresh, affordable food to more communities.”
