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Grocery Goliaths’ Merger Slayed by Antitrust Davids: The Kroger – Albertsons Deal Postmortem

  • January 23, 2025

Key Insights:

  • Kroger’s $25-billion bid to acquire Albertsons aimed to create one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S
  • States, regulators, and union workers pushed back, fearing store closures, layoffs, and higher prices
  • Multiple lawsuits piled up, including challenges to a $4 billion special dividend and the merger’s legality

Introduction:

When we first started our Deal Postmortem series, we expected to write about failed mergers & acquisitions once or twice a year at most. Major mergers & acquisitions rarely fail on such a grand stage. Yet, with 2024 coming to a close, we found ourselves looking at another new—and quite dramatic—failed deal. This time, it involved two of America’s biggest supermarket chains: The Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies. On paper, it seemed like a transaction that would create one of the largest grocery operators in the nation, with immense buying power and a sprawling national footprint. However, after holding out hope for two years, the deal collapsed under the weight of antitrust concerns, union backlash, multiple lawsuits, opposition from certain states and ultimately, a federal court decision. The following is a detailed chronology of how the $25-billion attempt by Kroger to buy Albertsons unraveled.

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