This could kill the Kroger merger with Albertsons: Today's top stories | Daily Briefing

Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
We've waited more than a year for regulators to decide whether to fight the Kroger/Albertsons deal.
We've waited more than a year for regulators to decide whether to fight the Kroger/Albertsons deal.

Hello! I’m Alex Coolidge, and I’ve written about most of the region’s major corporations and the local economy since 2005.

This week, I wrote about the danger posed by the Washington Attorney General's lawsuit to kill the proposed $25 billion supermarket merger of Kroger and Albertsons.

The grocery industry has waited more than a year for regulators at the Federal Trade Commission to decide whether to fight the deal. But now antitrust legal experts caution the state lawsuit is no sideshow. In fact, antitrust law allows state and even consumer lawsuits to challenge big mergers.

Well, guess what? In addition to a previous lawsuit by multiple states, there’s also a pending consumer challenge to the merger. Also, several other states – such as Arizona, California, Colorado and Montana – confirmed with The Enquirer they’re investigating the merger, and some acknowledged future litigation is a possibility.

“These are serious lawsuits – they are a big threat,” Eleanor Fox, a trade regulation professor at New York University, told The Enquirer.

In today’s story, we recap past and pending antitrust litigation of the merger. We also check in with several states to see what action they’re taking.

What else you need to know Monday, Feb. 5

🌞 Weather: High of 51. Plenty of sunshine.

🚋 Meet the woman who helped desegregate Cincinnati’s streetcar system.

🏀 'My dad means the world to me.' Xavier's Quincy Olivari scores 43 points with father courtside.

🏞 Closed floating restaurant in Clermont County secured after breaking off into Ohio River.

🎁 This 4-year-old's birthday was nearly ruined. Then two police officers stepped in to help.

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Today's Top Stories

Isn't tweeting part of a journalist's job? Columnist Jason Williams explains why he's a recovering Twitter/X addict.
Isn't tweeting part of a journalist's job? Columnist Jason Williams explains why he's a recovering Twitter/X addict.

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More than 80 people attended a public hearing to let city commissioners know where they stand on the proposed ALDI – and they did not hold back.
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Joey Votto's interaction at the NHL All-Star Game with Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty appears to have been contentious.
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.49ers' Brock Purdy isn't the first Mr. Irrelevant to play in the Super Bowl. The first was Highlands High School grad Marty Moore.
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• Mr. Irrelevant in the Super Bowl: Brock Purdy joins Highlands High grad

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Here are your best bets for fun this week.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: This could kill the Kroger merger with Albertsons | Daily Briefing