Courts pause Kroger & Albertsons merger

The Safeway grocery store in Cottonwood is one of 101 Safeway and Albertsons stores in Arizona that could be sold if a merger between Kroger and Albertsons is allowed to go through. Albertsons bought Safeway in 2016. C&S Wholesale Grocers has agreed to buy the store, along with the company’s 100 other Arizona stores, for a total of 579 stores nationwide, and will retain the “Safeway” banner. Daulton Venglar/Larson Newspapers

The proposed $24.6 billion merger between the Kroger Co. and Albertsons Companies Inc. is temporarily on hold as of Thursday, July 25, until an antitrust case by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser seeking to halt the deal is settled by the Colorado District Court. Albertsons bought Safeway in 2016 for $9.4 billion.

“I am pleased that Kroger and Albertsons agreed to halt their plans to merge until the court rules on the state’s lawsuit to permanently block the grocery merger,” Weiser said in a statement about the proposed merger, which was announced in October 2022. “This is great news for shoppers, workers, farmers and other suppliers, who can rest assured that this mega-merger will not go into effect during harvest season and while kids are headed back to school.”

District Judge Andrew J. Luxen issued a preliminary injunction Thursday morning that was accepted by all parties, including C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC. If the merger goes ahead, C&S has agreed to purchase a total of 579 stores across the nation, including the Safeway at 1635 E. Cottonwood Street in Cottonwood, all four Prescott-area Safeway stores and all three Flagstaff Safeway stores.

Under the agreement, C&S will license the Albertsons banner in California and Wyoming and the Safeway banner in Arizona and Colorado. Kroger will rebanner the Albertsons and Safeway stores it owns in Arizona.

Luxen had previously rejected a motion by Albertsons and Krogers to dismiss the state of Colorado’s lawsuit over the proposed merger.

In its divestiture plan, Kroger stated that the sale of the stores will ensure that none of the stores will be closed, that the employees will be retained and that “existing collective bargaining agreements will be honored,” as well as health care and pension benefits. 

Conversely, the Federal Trade Commission, which sued to block the proposed merger in February, contended that if the merger goes through it will lead to lower wages for workers and higher grocery prices for customers.

A trial in the Colorado antitrust suit is set for Sept. 30.

“My office looks forward to making the case that this merger will eliminate competition and impact food prices, jobs and consumer choice,” Weiser said in the statement.

Joseph K Giddens

Joseph K. Giddens grew up in southern Arizona and studied natural resources at the University of Arizona. He later joined the National Park Service in many different roles focusing on geoscience throughout the West. Drawn to deep time and ancient landscapes he’s worked at: Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Badlands National Park and Saguaro National Park among several other public land sites. Prior to joining Sedona Red Rock News, he worked for several Tucson outlets as well as the Williams-Grand Canyon News and the Navajo-Hopi Observer. He frequently is reading historic issues of the Tombstone Epithet newspaper and daydreaming about rockhounding. Contact him at jgiddens@larsonnewspapers.com or (928) 282-7795 ext. 122.

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Joseph K. Giddens grew up in southern Arizona and studied natural resources at the University of Arizona. He later joined the National Park Service in many different roles focusing on geoscience throughout the West. Drawn to deep time and ancient landscapes he’s worked at: Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Badlands National Park and Saguaro National Park among several other public land sites. Prior to joining Sedona Red Rock News, he worked for several Tucson outlets as well as the Williams-Grand Canyon News and the Navajo-Hopi Observer. He frequently is reading historic issues of the Tombstone Epithet newspaper and daydreaming about rockhounding. Contact him at jgiddens@larsonnewspapers.com or (928) 282-7795 ext. 122.
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