Kroger, the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, would buy Albertsons, the second-largest such operator, for $24.6 billion and merge it into Kroger’s operations. The deal would combine Cincinnati-based Kroger and its 2,722 stores with Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons and the 2,271 stores it operates.

In a major victory for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Biden Administration, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the $25 billion merger between grocery giants Kroger (KR) and Albertsons (ACI),

Kroger's $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons was blocked by a federal judge. Lawyers for the companies previously said this would sink the deal.

"The FTC, along with our state partners, scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons," Federal Trade Commission competition director Henry Liu said of a court ruling granting a preliminary injunction.

In parallel, same-day rulings, a federal and state court blocked The Kroger Company’s $24.6 billion proposed acquisition of the Albertsons

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the proposed $25 billion merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, ruling that the deal would limit competition and harm consumers but leaving the door

U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued the ruling Tuesday after holding a three-week hearing in Portland, Oregon.

Details of Boise-based Albertsons’ lawsuit against Kroger claiming “billions of dolllars” in damages have been unsealed. As BoiseDev reported last week, after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on the Kroger and Albertsons merger and temporarily put it on ice,

Kroger’s conduct created frustration and distrust among regulators … and ultimately caused an unprecedented litigation onslaught,” Albertsons claims in a newly unsealed lawsuit.

When a judge halted the proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons by Kroger, the decision noted that “supermarkets are distinct from other grocery retailers.” And as GlobeSt.com has reported, the FTC previously argued that the deal would raise prices by eliminating head-to-head competition, and also weaken union bargaining power.