Colorado Judge Temporarily Halts Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Trial Set to Begin Sept. 30
Kroger and Albertsons
(Kroger by Jeffrey Dean/Bloomberg News; Albertsons by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg News)

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A Colorado judge issued an order temporarily blocking the proposed $25 billion merger of Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos., which has been challenged by the state attorney general.

At a hearing in Denver on July 25, Judge Andrew J. Luxen granted a preliminary injunction halting the deal and canceled a hearing set for next month. Instead, Luxen will oversee a two-week trial on the merits of the proposed tie-up beginning Sept. 30.

The two companies agreed to delay closing their proposed deal until after the court rules. The Federal Trade Commission and a group of states separately sued to challenge the deal in Oregon federal court. A hearing in that case is set to begin on Aug. 26.



Kroger ranks No. 38 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America, while Albertsons is No. 40. Kroger, Albertsons and C&S rank No. 4, 5 and 9, respectively, on the TT grocery list.

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