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By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation,
A failed attempt to create the nation’s largest conglomerate of supermarkets failed in December amid antitrust allegations by state and federal officials, but the effort to merge with Albertson’s cost Kroger Co. more than $1 billion, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier [6].
Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., which owns 2,722 stores nationwide, proposed spending $24.6 billion to acquire Albertson’s 2,271 stores, but concerns over unfair competition in many markets halted the merger in December 2024 when judges sided with the Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general.
In its newly released Form 10-K filed April 1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kroger reported spending $684 million in 2024, $316 million in 2023, and $44 million in 2022, primarily in third-party professional fees and credit costs.