Posted on 01/19/2024 12:33:44 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit to block the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons because of the negative ramifications he says it would have for residents, such as fewer options and higher prices.
In the suit, filed on Monday, Ferguson argued that the proposed $24.6 billion merger, announced in October 2022, "will likely substantially lessen supermarket competition or tend to create a monopoly in many Washington communities," where both companies currently compete.
This would likely increase prices of food and other grocery products in supermarkets offered to Washington consumers while simultaneously decreasing "the quantity and quality of choices available to Washington consumers," the suit said.
In the suit, Ferguson noted that the price hikes in food costs over recent years, stemming from things such as COVID and supply chain issues, underscores "the importance of robust competition amongst supermarkets to keep prices in check."
Albertsons is the largest supermarket chain in Washington and operates as Albertsons, Haggen, and Safeway. Kroger is the second-largest supermarket chain in the state and operates as Fred Meyer and QFC, according to the suit.
In a joint statement to FOX Business, Kroger and Albertsons said they are "disappointed in Attorney General Ferguson’s premature decision to file a lawsuit while the merger is still under regulatory review."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Mergers interfere with feds plans for their mergers?.
“Ferguson’s goal is to become President. He will run in either 2028, or 2032.”
he is about as popular as Inslee, which somehow seems to mean nothing.
I can only hope both of them die in a fire
Synergies in support. Like HR, Payroll, Accounting, Logistics, etc. Do same or more with less headcount?
Yeah
Costco is too big
Shut them down too
Gog usa
Magog nato
Rev 13
Both companies should close up and withdraw from Washington state.
The merger was announced in fall of 2022! Side Show Bob waits until the election year. He also just recently figured out that some companies were charging too much for their chicken and tuna so he sent folks checks to cover it.
Our neighbor (democrat) got a check for $150 “I can’t stand canned meat - I never eat it”. I guess my check got lost in the mail.
In NC, we had Kroger and Harris Teeters - Kroger bought HT and Krogers closed all.
We MISS Krogers here - such a great store that had been here for quite some time.
He sent checks out to some Washington state customers for $120 after suing canned chicken/tuna for price fixing. His name was on the check.
Did they oppose Amazon buying out Whole Foods?
RE: The number one reason is to raise prices. They do this by reducing competition through turning a competitive market into an oligopoly.
It’s not as simple as that though.
When two companies with complementary operations merge, they can eliminate redundancies and streamline processes, leading to cost savings that can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. In fact, Albertsons ( which Kroger is now trying to merge with ) actually merged with Safeway in 2015 was expected to generate $1.4 billion in annual cost savings, some of which could be used to lower prices for shoppers.
Kroger’s rationale today for merging with Albertsons ( and indirectly, Safeway) was that Combining operations and purchasing power to cost savings on procurement and logistics, potentially enabling lower prices.
They claim that a larger entity could have gained more leverage with suppliers, potentially securing lower prices for some products. This could benefit shoppers, but may not be reflected across all product categories.
But Grocery prices are influenced by various factors beyond mergers, including global commodity prices, transportation costs, labor costs, and local competition. Isolating the merger’s specific impact is difficult.
RE: Kroger and Albertsons are WOKE organizations. They do not deserve any sympathy.
Ha ha ha, as if Washington State, the entity trying to block their merger isn’t a BIG, WOKE ORGANIZATION IN ITSELF.
Fox News via MSN and Daniela Genovese are at best economically ill-informed and against the market economy free from government interference. The Left always tries to deflect away from the gross economic hinderances by government to perceived slights in free enterprise. They always try to make free enterprise the bad guy. Don’t believe it for a minute. The government is BY FAR the economic culprit and thief and they and their media minions are LIARS.
As Adam Smith laid out in the “Wealth of Nations”, government is the enemy of prosperity while freedom from government and the Free Market Economy with free and open competition is the source of wealth and demonstrated by America in the 1800’s going into the 1900’s.
Mergers and acquisitions are generally a sign of business success which government likes to regulate. In doing so government HINDERS the open competition of new players who challenge others’ dominance in the marketplace. OF COURSE a company would like to be free from competition. But KEEP GOVERNMENT OUT of the market economy and there will be plenty of competition and the CONSUMER AND THE ECONOMY are always the winners.
KEEP GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE MARKET ECONOMY.
LESS GOVERNMENT, MORE PROPSERITY.
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