News about Albertsons

Albertsons has sued Kroger for more than $9.3 billion after the collapse of the $24.6 billion buyout, with a 2-week court hearing expected to begin later this month. Albertsons claims Kroger breached the contract by failing to make best efforts to obtain antitrust approval and refusing to modify store sell-off arrangements, despite a cap of 650 store disposals. The damages sought include deal premium payments for equity holders at closing, a $600 million break fee, and $75 million in costs and accumulated interest. Kroger disputes any liability, arguing that Albertsons failed to honor its own promises and forfeited the termination payment, and that regulatory approval was impossible without exceeding 650 stores, adding that it spent more than $1 billion pursuing the deal. A federal judge halted the tie-up in December 2024 after the US Federal Trade Commission argued that the store sales to C&S Wholesale Grocers did not eliminate antitrust concerns, and Albertsons subsequently scrapped the agreement.