A state's experience with grocery chain mergers spurs a fight to stop Albertsons' deal with Kroger
Washington state is in court to try to block a proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger
Washington state went to court Monday to try to block a proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger, saying shoppers would pay hundreds of millions more for groceries each year if the supermarket chains are no longer closely competing.
Albertsons and Kroger insist a merger would help them lower prices and better compete with big rivals like Walmart, Costco and Amazon.
“This is the real competition," Kroger attorney Mark Perry said in his opening arguments in King County Superior Court in Seattle. «The evidence will establish that Kroger and Albertsons do face an existential threat from these behemoths and that this merger is their response to that threat.”
But Glenn Pomerantz, an attorney for Washington, noted that there are no Walmarts in Seattle or in many of the other markets in which Albertsons and Kroger currently operate. Albertsons and Kroger own more than 300 stores in the state and control more than half of grocery sales there.
“There is no existential threat going on here. There is just healthy competition,” Pomerantz said. “Kroger and Albertsons don't need to merge to be successful. They're already successful.”
The case is one of three challenging the $24.6 billion deal, which was announced nearly two years ago. The Federal Trade Commission is currently fighting the merger in federal court in Oregon, where closing arguments were expected Tuesday. Colorado has also sued to block the merger.
Washington seeks to block the merger nationwide. Pomerantz said Monday that the merger proposal is an “all-or-nothing deal,» and if Kroger and Albertsons want to preserve the merger, their agreement needs to conform to
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