Following a ruling by Judge Andrew J. Luxen in a Colorado state court, the hearing related to the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger will be delayed until September 30th. The ruling instructed Defendants to “Take any and all necessary steps to prevent any of their officers, directors, domestic and foreign agents, divisions, subsidiaries, affiliates, partnerships or joint ventures from consummating, directly or indirectly, any such transaction.”
The hearing will be at the request of the state of Colorado for a permanent injunction as requested by Attorney General, Phil Weiser.
The Colorado litigation is separate from the filing by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to be heard on August 26th in Washington, D.C. The FTC was joined in the action by the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming.
During recent weeks, Kroger and Albertsons have released a list of 579 stores that will be divested to C&S Wholesale Grocers. Albertsons also indicated that the COO of their company will be transferred to C&S in the event of the transaction being consummated to ensure viability.
The merger is vigorously opposed by all locals under the umbrella of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union. Concerns include potential job loss, creation of pharmacy and food deserts, reduction in competition and ultimately, increased food prices. The merger of Kroger and Albertsons would increase the buying power of the combination with adverse effects on suppliers including egg producers.