NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Idaho-based U.S. grocery company Albertsons Cos. said it filed a lawsuit against Kroger Co., claiming it failed to exercise "best efforts" and take "any and all actions" needed to secure regulatory approval for the companies' proposed 24.6-billion-U.S.-dollar deal, according to its statement on Wednesday.
Albertsons said in a statement that it's seeking "billions of dollars in damages from Kroger to make Albertsons and its shareholders whole." In addition to a 600-million-dollar termination fee, the grocery chain wants compensation for the "multiple years and hundreds of millions of dollars it devoted to obtaining approval for the merger."
In a statement, Kroger said Albertsons' claims are baseless and without merit. It added that Albertsons isn't entitled to the merger break fee and that Albertsons is seeking to "deflect responsibility following Kroger's written notification of Albertsons' multiple breaches of the agreement."
Kroger and Albertsons had agreed to the tie-up in October 2022, saying it would help them compete better against Amazon.com, Inc., Walmart Inc. and other bigger, non-unionized rivals. It would have united Kroger, the nation's biggest grocery company, with Albertsons, the second biggest, to create a company with more than 4,000 stores across 48 states and Washington, D.C., according to Bloomberg News.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block the deal in February, arguing that it violates U.S. antitrust law and that a divestiture of hundreds of stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. wouldn't be enough to replace the lost competition.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the deal, siding with the FTC and arguing it would lessen competition and raise prices for U.S. shoppers. A Washington judge in Seattle on Tuesday blocked the deal in that state.
