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☆ 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

☆ Proposed Kroger, Albertsons merger will take more time to close as scrutiny continues
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Supermarket chain Kroger's proposed acquisition of rival Albertsons is now expected to close in the first half of Kroger's fiscal year 2024 instead of early this year. Kroger, Albertsons and C&S Wholesale Grocers said they are in "active and ongoing dialogue" with the Federal Trade Commission and individual state attorneys general, according to the joint statement. In a bid to close the proposed $24.6 billion deal, Kroger agreed in September to divest 413 stores and eight distribution centers to C&S for $1.9 billion. With regulatory approval, the merger may require C&S to purchase an additional 237 stores from Kroger and Albertsons, Kroger said last year. Washington state's attorney general filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the proposed merger, calling it "harmful" for shoppers and workers.

Persons: Rodney McMullen, Kroger, —, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez Organizations: Albertsons, Antitrust, Consumer, Capitol, S Wholesale Grocers, Federal Trade Commission, Kroger, Safeway, Acme, Washington, & $ Locations: Washington, Sens, Alexandria

[1/2] The Kroger supermarket chain's headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 28, 2018. Bonta said the decision has not been made, but added: "Right now there's not a lot of reason not to sue." In September, the companies announced a plan to sell more than 400 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an effort to get regulatory approval for the deal. A Kroger spokesperson said only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if the merger is blocked. Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities had inadequate access to needed pharmacy services.

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Rob Bonta, Bonta, Lina Khan, Diane Bartz, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Kroger, REUTERS, Rights, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Walmart, U.S, Water Watch, Federal Trade, FTC, University of Southern, Thomson Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, U.S, California, America, Food, Washington, University of Southern California

☆ Kroger and Albertsons sell 400 stores to Piggly Wiggly’s parent company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Kroger and Albertsons are selling roughly 400 stores to Piggly Wiggly’s parent company in an attempt to win antitrust approval for the mega merger between the grocery stores. C&S, a privately held company, operates 500 grocery stores under the Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union banners and is also a major grocery wholesaler. On Friday, Kroger reported $33.85 billion in revenue for the second quarter, slightly under analyst estimates of $34.63 billion. Company executives said part of the quarterly loss related to economic headwinds, organized retail theft and opioid settlement payments. The largest to date is a $26 billion settlement involving several companies that began paying out last year and continues for 18 years.

Persons: New York CNN —, ” Kroger, ”, Mark McGowan, Kroger Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York CNN — Kroger, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Union, Walmart, Costco, Aldi, ., Kroger Locations: New York, Arizona , California, Colorado, Wyoming, Amazon, Aldi, Dixie, ” State

All fuel centers and pharmacies associated with the divested stores will remain with the stores and continue to operate. Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, bid $20 billion for Albertsons. C&S, which was founded in 1918, is a supplier to independent grocery stores, supplying more than 7,500 independent supermarkets, retail chain stores and military bases. It currently runs Grand Union grocery stores and Piggly Wiggly franchise and corporate-owned stores in the Midwest and Carolinas. Shares of Kroger Co., based in Ohio, rose 5% Thursday and Albertsons Cos., based in Idaho, rose 3%.

Persons: Debi Lilly Design, Primo Taglio, Kroger, ” Kroger, Rodney McMullen Organizations: Kroger, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Waterfront Bistro, Walmart, Amazon, Aldi, Winn, Dixie, Federal Trade Commission, Union, Kroger Co, Albertsons Cos Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, Midwest, Carolinas, Ohio, Idaho

☆ Slowing inflation is dragging on Kroger sales, even as consumers still feel a pinch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But it has created risk that customers could turn to retailers known for lower food prices, such as Walmart, Aldi or Dollar General . Kroger reaffirmed its full-year guidance, saying it expects identical sales excluding fuel to range between 1% and 2%. In an earnings release, he said the grocer expects inflation to "continue to decelerate" and expects a tougher backdrop for consumers in the months ahead. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said on an earnings call that slowing inflation could lift sales in another way. He said Kroger has stepped up security and added new tech to try to fight crime, but said Kroger expects the theft trends "will continue to be a challenge for the remainder of the year."

Persons: Kroger, Fred Meyer, Ralphs, King Soopers, Gary Millerchip, Rodney McMullen, McMullen, Millerchip Organizations: Kroger, LSEG, Target, Walmart, Aldi, Express, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Grand Union Locations: U.S, Florida, Washington ,

☆ C&S, SoftBank near deal to buy stores from Kroger, Albertsons - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The deal value and the number of stores included in the transaction could not be immediately learned. C&S lost one of its largest customers, Ahold Delhaize (AD.AS), when the supermarket group decided to transition to self-distribution in 2019. Kroger, Albertsons, C&S and SoftBank did not respond to Reuters' request for a comment. Reuters had reported in February that Kroger and Albertsons were advancing their plans to sell between 250 and 300 stores that they hope will alleviate U.S. antitrust concerns over their combination. In March, the companies reiterated that they would divest some stores to win the regulatory clearance required to go ahead with the merger.

Persons: Ahold, SoftBank, Kroger's, Juby Babu, Anirban Sen, Abigail Summerville, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Rashmi Organizations: S Wholesale Grocers, SoftBank, Kroger, Albertsons Companies Inc, Reuters, Bloomberg, Albertsons, Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Phoenix, Chicago, Bengaluru, New York

The deal would give privately held C&S, primarily a supplier rather than an operator of grocery stores, a much more significant footprint. The stores that Kroger and Albertsons plan to shed are primarily in the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain states, along with some in California, Texas, Illinois, and the East Coast, the sources said. Bloomberg News reported about the talks between C&S, Kroger and Albertsons on Monday, as well as SoftBank's involvement but gave no information about the deal terms. Previously, Kroger and Albertsons said they may divest between 100 and 375 stores by placing them in a new company that Albertsons shareholders would own. In a regulatory filing Kroger said the upper limit for divestitures was 650 stores.

Persons: Rick Cohen, Cohen, SoftBank, Kroger, Ahold, Anirban Sen, Abigail Summerville, Juby Babu, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Rashmi Aich, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Kroger, Albertsons Cos Inc, S Wholesale Grocers, Grand Union, Piggly, SoftBank Group Corp, Symbotic Inc, Albertsons, Bloomberg News, Thomson, & $ Locations: Pacific Northwest, California , Texas , Illinois, East Coast, New York, Bengaluru

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