The planned $24.6 billion merger of supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons has faced pushback from federal regulators, state Attorneys General and labor unions practically from the moment it was first announced in October 2022. Now the companies, while noting that they “remain in active and ongoing dialogue with the Federal Trade Commission and individual state Attorneys General,” have stretched out the timeline for the deal’s finalization. Rather than occurring in early 2024, the companies said the closing will now take place in the first half of Kroger’s FY 2024, a period that ends Aug. 17, 2024.
“While this is longer than we originally thought, we knew it was a possibility and our merger agreement and divestiture plan accounted for such potential timing,” according to a joint statement from the retailers. “We remain committed to closing the transaction and providing the meaningful and measurable benefits that we promised when we originally announced the transaction.”
In an effort to speed up the merger, which would create a 4,500-store entity,Kroger and Albertsons announced plans in September 2023 to sell 400+ stores, eight DCs and five private label brands to C&S Wholesale Grocers. Top execs from both companies defended the merger in testimony to a U.S. Senate committee in November 2023, saying it was needed to compete with grocery giants including Walmart, Costco and Amazon.
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