Kroger and Albertsons head to court to defend merger plan against US regulators' objections

Kroger and Albertsons will defend their plan to merge in a hearing scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Oregon. In October 2022, the chains proposed what would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history. They say joining together would help them compete with big rivals like Walmart and Costco. But the Federal Trade Commission sued to try to block the merger, saying it would eliminate competition and raise grocery prices. After a three-week hearing, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson will decide whether to grant the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, which would block the merger while the case goes through in-house proceedings at the FTC.