Plans for the largest grocery merger in American history are over.
A day after a federal judge delivered a serious blow to the merger, Albertsons announced Wednesday it was giving up on the controversial deal to join forces with its competitor Kroger and sued the chain, alleging it failed to do enough to win government approval for the $24.6-billion agreement.
Albertsons released a statement claiming Kroger was guilty of a “willful breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing” due to what it said was “Kroger’s failure to exercise ‘best efforts’ and to take ‘any and all actions’ to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction.”
A Kroger representative called Albertsons’ claims “baseless and without merit” and was “clearly an attempt to deflect responsibility.”
“Kroger refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms, especially in light of Albertsons’ repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process.”
Albertsons decision to end its corporate courtship and sue its would-be partner came on the heels of a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson, who on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger, finding it would quash competition and leave consumers in many parts of the country without meaningful choices when shopping for food. That decision followed a three-week hearing in Portland, Ore., over the summer.
Shortly after Nelson’s ruling, a state judge in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after also concluding it would lessen competition in the state and violate Washington’s consumer-protection laws.
This is a developing story.
After court loss, Albertsons backs out of merger with Kroger
Plans for the largest grocery merger in American history are over.
A day after a federal judge delivered a serious blow to the merger, Albertsons announced Wednesday it was giving up on the controversial deal to join forces with its competitor Kroger and sued the chain, alleging it failed to do enough to win government approval for the $24.6-billion agreement.
Albertsons released a statement claiming Kroger was guilty of a “willful breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing” due to what it said was “Kroger’s failure to exercise ‘best efforts’ and to take ‘any and all actions’ to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction.”
A Kroger representative called Albertsons’ claims “baseless and without merit” and was “clearly an attempt to deflect responsibility.”
“Kroger refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms, especially in light of Albertsons’ repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process.”
Albertsons decision to end its corporate courtship and sue its would-be partner came on the heels of a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson, who on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger, finding it would quash competition and leave consumers in many parts of the country without meaningful choices when shopping for food. That decision followed a three-week hearing in Portland, Ore., over the summer.
Shortly after Nelson’s ruling, a state judge in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after also concluding it would lessen competition in the state and violate Washington’s consumer-protection laws.
This is a developing story.