DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ US government sues to block largest supermarket merger in history
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued to block the $25 billion deal between Kroger and Albertsons, alleging the largest supermarket merger in US history would lead to higher prices for consumers. The merger, announced in 2022, sought to combine the fifth and tenth largest retailers in the country. “This supermarket mega merger comes as American consumers have seen the cost of groceries rise steadily over the past few years. With the FTC’s blessing, Haggen, a small supermarket chain in the Northwest with just 18 locations, bought 146 of the former Albertsons and Safeway stores. She criticized the FTC’s handling of Albertsons’ deal with Safeway, pointing to it as a prime example of the limitations of divestitures.

Persons: Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Kroger, Rodney McMullen, Henry Liu, Piggly, Khan, Lina Khan, Haggen, ” Khan, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FTC, Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Competition, S Wholesale Grocers, Democrats, Republicans, Capitol Locations: New York, United States, Aldi, FTC’s, Northwest

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday sued to block the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation's largest grocery chains. Kroger and Albertsons have more than 300 locations in the state and account for more than half of its grocery sales, according to the suit. “This merger is bad for Washington shoppers and workers,” Ferguson said in a news release Monday. "Workers, shoppers and our communities need to prevent this proposed mega-merger from taking place,” Yasmin Ashur, a union member who works in an Albertsons grocery store, said in a union statement Monday. The grocery chains say they must merge to compete with Walmart, Amazon and other major companies that have stepped into the grocery business.

Persons: Bob Ferguson, Ferguson, ” Ferguson, ” Kroger, Fred Meyer, Kroger, ” Yasmin Ashur Organizations: SEATTLE, Kroger, Albertsons, King County Superior Court, Seattle Times, “, Safeway, Federal Trade Commission, United Food & Commercial Workers, The Seattle Times, Workers, S Wholesale Grocers, Walmart, Amazon Locations: Washington, King County, Cincinnati, Boise , Idaho, Oregon, Idaho

The stores that Kroger and Albertsons may sell could be worth more than $1 billion, the sources said. Kroger and Albertsons will choose to proceed with the spin-off if they are unable to strike a deal with a potential buyer. Kroger, Albertsons and the FTC declined to comment. Haggen filed for bankruptcy months later and blamed the deal with Albertsons for its demise. Albertsons then agreed to buy many of the Haggen stores back for $300 million.

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Skeptical lawmakers from across the political spectrum questioned executives at grocers Kroger Co (KR.N) and Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) on Tuesday about their planned $25 billion merger amid concerns the tie-up could boost already-high food prices. The deal will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission to ensure it is legal under antitrust law. Stores under the Albertsons umbrella include Balducci's, Haggen, Kings, Safeway, Star Market, Tom Thumb, United Supermarkets and Vons, among others. The companies have also been criticized for a plan to give Albertsons' shareholders a $4 billion dividend payment. Senator Tom Cotton, a conservative Republican, criticized Kroger for the company's aprons with a design that appeared to support gay pride.

☆ Kroger and Albertsons want to create a grocery empire. The last supermarket mega-merger backfired
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

With the FTC’s blessing, Haggen, a small supermarket chain in the Northwest with just 18 locations, bought 146 of the former Albertsons and Safeway stores, including the one where Martinez worked. In an weird twist, Albertsons bought back dozens of the same stores it previously sold to Haggen in bankruptcy court — at a lower price. Now she worries Kroger will divest Ralphs as part of its merger with Albertsons in a repeat of the Haggen 2015 deal. To address antitrust concerns that the merger will stifle competition in local markets where they overlap, Kroger and Albertsons plan to divest stores. In 2015, Haggen bought a Vons grocery store (owned by Safeway at the time) in Carpinteria as part of the Albertsons and Safeway divestitures.

☆ Investors will reap billions if Kroger takes over Albertsons. Workers and shoppers may not be as happy.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Wealthy investors in Safeway’s parent, Albertsons Companies, have done better. And next week, they were slated to reap a $4 billion cash dividend in connection with a proposed $25 billion takeover of Albertsons by rival Kroger. Based on that stake and the amount of the dividend, Cerberus stands to receive roughly $1 billion of the dividend payout. Six of Albertsons’ 14 directors who voted for the dividend are affiliated with the major investors. This is the last, best and final hope for a truly unionized chain.”Nervous about the pensionThe proposed $4 billion cash dividend is large by many measures.

Four local chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International told Reuters they are assessing their options for lobbying and coordinated action against the deal, including potential strikes. Bryan Doherty, a spokesperson for the UFCW International, told Reuters it plans to request more information from the retailers about possible store closures and layoffs. On Monday afternoon, representatives of UFCW International met with nearly 100 local UFCW chapters on Zoom to discuss the merger and their collective response to it. Workers told Reuters that Kroger has not yet held conversations with the union to discuss the merger. Albertsons reached out to the union, offering to "keep lines of communication open," Mark Federici, president of UFCW local 400, told Reuters.

The spin-out structure would make it easier and faster for Kroger and Albertsons to divest stores if they cannot easily sell them outright, people familiar with the arrangement said. The companies may struggle to find many buyers because Albertsons' stores are unionized, making them less attractive to potential bidders such as private equity firms. Kroger and Albertsons are likely to shed their least profitable stores and keep the best ones to themselves, analysts said. That region contains the most store-overlap between Kroger and Albertsons and is where divestitures are most likely, according to analysts. They intend for the spun-off company to not carry any debt, the sources added.

Search resuls for: "Haggen"

8 mentions found