The Washington attorney general sued Kroger and Albertsons on Monday to block the merger of the two largest supermarket chains in the U.S. He is asking the court to grant a permanent nationwide injunction.
The mega-deal, worth $24.6 billion, promised to shake up competition in the food aisles. Kroger, the biggest supermarket operator with 2,719 locations, owns Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, King Soopers and other chains. Albertsons is the second-biggest chain, with 2,272 stores, and owns Safeway and Vons. Together they employ about 720,000 people.
