Kroger-Albertsons merger on hold as Colorado proceeds to September trial

(Reuters) -The proposed $25 billion merger of Kroger (NYSE:) and Albertsons (NYSE:) has been halted until the Colorado District Court rules on a lawsuit filed to block the deal that is expected to push up grocery prices, State Attorney General Phil Weiser said on Thursday.

“The trial is set to begin on Sept. 30 and my office looks forward to making the case that this merger will eliminate competition and impact food prices, jobs, and consumer choice,” Weiser said in a statement.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and eight states had said in late-February they were suing to block the supermarket mega-merger, which was announced in October 2022 and expected to create a grocery empire with more than 4,000 stores.

U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson in March had set Aug. 26 as the start of a hearing on the FTC’s bid for a preliminary injunction to challenge the deal.

The FTC and the other states’ decision came after Colorado and Washington State sued to block the merger.

Bloomberg News earlier reported that a Colorado District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction halting the deal at a hearing in Denver on Thursday and canceled a hearing set for Aug. 12.

Kroger and Albertsons did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The companies had said in April they were expanding their planned sale of grocery stores to get regulatory approval and would offload 166 more locations than previously agreed upon to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

They would now sell 579 stores to C&S and give it access to Albertsons Signature and O Organics private-label brands.