Albertsons announced on Dec. 11, 2024, that it had called off an attempted merger with Kroger and would sue Kroger for breach of contract. The US$25 billion deal, first announced in 2022, would have combined Cincinnati-based Kroger, already the largest traditional U.S. supermarket chain, with Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which is currently the third-biggest grocer.
The Conversation U.S. asked Christine P. Bartholomew, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law who researches consumer protection, to explain how the merger failed and why it matters.
