The Secretaries of State representing seven of 50 states have submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission opposing the merger/acquisition by the Kroger Company with Albertsons.

The letter addressed to FTC Chair, Lina Khan, stated, “We are strongly opposed to this merger and urge you to stop this corporate consolidation that is draining Americans of their hard-earned wages and livelihoods.”

State AGs participating in the opposition comprised Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking an inordinate amount of time to rule on the proposed transaction.  It is understood that the Agency is receiving comments from unions, grocers’ associations and especially, small-scale chains that, in theory, would be most impacted by the merger/acquisition.