Kroger-Albertsons’ $25 Billion Merger Faces Another Delay
January 16, 2024The proposed $25 billion merger of supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons, which had been expected to close early this year, has been delayed again. In a joint statement, Kroger, Albertsons, and C&S Wholesale Grocers—which has agreed to acquire 413 stores from Kroger for $1.9 billion to ease regulatory concerns—said the deal is now expected to close before the end of Kroger’s fiscal first half ending in August.
“In light of our continuing dialogue with the regulators, we are updating our anticipated closure timeline,” the companies said. “While this is longer than we originally thought, we knew it was a possibility and our merger agreement and divestiture plan accounted for such potential timing.”
Kroger and Albertsons maintain that the deal will result in lower prices and more choices for consumers, and say they’ll invest $500 million to lower prices post-merger. But the tie-up continues to come under heightened scrutiny, with Washington state’s attorney general filing a lawsuit to block it yesterday, calling it harmful to consumers and workers. Kroger and Albertsons responded that blocking the deal will only further strengthen bigger non-unionized retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon.
Both Kroger and Albertsons are major players in beverage alcohol across wide swaths of the country. Kroger carries some 4,000 unique spirits SKUs, with significant variance in selection from market to market, according to local laws. Albertsons sells spirits in 1,200 locations, wine in 1,800 locations, and beer in 2,000 locations—and where all three beverage alcohol types are sold, beverage alcohol comprises about 10% of total store sales.—Daniel Marsteller
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