US regulator sues to block biggest supermarket merger in history

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday that it filed a lawsuit to block the largest proposed supermarket merger in US history, alleging that the deal is anticompetitive.

The proposed merger concerns Kroger’s $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, which was announced in October 2022.

The FTC said the proposed deal would eliminate competition between the two retailers, leading to higher prices for groceries and other essential household items for millions of Americans.

The loss of competition, in addition, would lead to lower quality products and services, narrow consumers' choices, erase competition for workers and threaten the ability of employees to secure higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.

"This supermarket mega merger comes as American consumers have seen the cost of groceries rise steadily over the past few years," Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement.

"Essential grocery store workers would also suffer under this deal, facing the threat of their wages dwindling, benefits diminishing, and their working conditions deteriorating."

If the merger was completed, Kroger and Albertsons would operate more than 5,000 stores and approximately 4,000 retail pharmacies and would employ nearly 700,000 employees across 48 US states, according to the FTC.