The News
In what is likely to be the last major M&A antitrust decision of the Biden administration, a judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission in blocking the merger of Kroger and Albertsons.
But the fireworks are just beginning: Albertsons immediately sued Kroger, saying it hadn’t tried hard enough to win regulatory support for the deal.
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One under-appreciated part of antitrust reviews is whether companies are on the same page about what concessions they’re willing to offer the government.
In 2016, squabbling between health insurers Anthem and Cigna over regulatory concessions killed their merger. (Cigna never wanted to do the deal in the first place, so there was some deliberate foot-dragging, and the legal drama eventually ended in a draw.)
Albertsons says Kroger refused to divest enough stores, rejected potential buyers, and ignored regulators’ feedback.
