Grocers Kroger and Albertsons have said that they plan to close their proposed $24.6 billion (€22.5 billion) merger in the first half of Kroger’s fiscal 2024 instead of early 2024, according to ESM – European Supermarket Magazine.
The merger, first announced in October 2022, has drawn the ire of U.S. lawmakers and an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission due to antitrust concerns, with worries piling up that the deal would lead to higher prices for consumers, store closures, and loss of jobs.
CLOSURE TIMELINE
“In light of our continuing dialogue with the regulators, we are updating our anticipated closure timeline,” the companies said in a statement. In 2023, the first half of Kroger’s fiscal year ended on August 12. “We currently anticipate that the closing will occur in the first half of Kroger’s fiscal 2024,” the companies added. “While this is longer than we originally thought, we knew it was a possibility and our merger agreement and divestiture plan accounted for such potential timing. We remain committed to closing the transaction and providing the meaningful and measurable benefits that we promised when we originally announced the transaction.”
INVESTMENT IN PRICES
Kroger said it will invest $500 million (€457.8 million) to reduce prices and $1.3 billion (€1.19 billion) to enhance customer experience.
The companies said they remain in active and ongoing dialogue with the Federal Trade Commission and individual state attorneys general regarding their proposed merger and divestiture plan.
Kroger, which is the biggest grocer in the U.S. by revenue, proposed to divest over 400 stores and eight distribution centers to C&S Wholesale Grocers. Last year, it said that it may need to shed an additional 237 stores to gain regulatory approval.
