The greatest supermarket merger in American historical past is lifeless. Within the area of only a few hours on December tenth, federal and state judges each sided with the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC), America’s most important antitrust regulator, to dam the acquisition of Albertsons, a giant grocery store chain, by Kroger, one other such agency. By the subsequent day the pair had been adversaries: Albertsons has not solely referred to as off the deal, additionally it is now suing Kroger for failing to make “finest efforts” to get regulatory approval.
