Open Markets Institute Statement on OR, WA Preliminary Injunctions against Kroger-Albertsons Takeover

WASHINGTON - In response to a federal judge in Oregon granting the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction against Kroger’s takeover of Albertsons and a state judge siding with the Washington Attorney General’s suit to block the deal, the Open Market Institute's Food Systems Program Manager Claire Kelloway issued the following statement: 

“These decisions are a major win for all grocery shoppers and the future of antitrust enforcement. The Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General deserve credit for their bold, uncompromising challenges to stop this deal outright and to reject the companies’ weak offer to just sell off stores. Combining America’s two largest stand-alone grocery chains would have raised already high food prices for shoppers and further squeezed workers and farmers. We are thrilled to see the court and the FTC uphold the rule of law, affirm the 2023 merger guidelines, and stand up for shoppers, workers, and farmers.”

 Previously the Open Markets Institute has spoken out against the merger in The American Prospect, ProMarket, and Food & Power.