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Kroger (KR) on Monday will start batting in court with the Federal Trade Commission over its plan to block the supermarket behemoth’s $24.6 billion purchase of rival Albertsons (NYSE:ACI).
The FTC is set to start its trial against the supermarket operators before a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon on Monday. The trial is likely to last two to three weeks in front of Judge Adrienne Nelson.
The FTC sued to block the combination in February, saying the supermarket deal would lead to higher prices for consumers. Eight states and Washington, D.C. also teamed up with the regulator to halt the deal. Colorado and Washington also separately filed lawsuits to try to put an end to the deal.
Kroger has been trying to appease the FTC by offering to divest hundreds of stores to make the deal more palatable for the regulator. Albertsons (ACI) in April announced an updated divestiture package that increased the total store count by 166 to include 579 stores that will be sold C&S Wholesale Grocers. Kroger originally announced a plan in September to sell 413 stores for $1.9 billion to C&S.
“We stand prepared to defend this merger in the upcoming trial in federal court,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement on Monday. “The merger between Kroger and Albertson’s is squarely focused on ensuring we bring customers lower prices starting day one while securing the future of good-paying union jobs.”
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