- Kroger announced plans to acquire rival Albertsons for $24.6 billion, combining two national grocery chains with nearly 5,000 stores and $209 billion in annual revenue.
- The grocers say they hope to merge to generate cost savings that can be passed along to consumers currently being hammered by inflation.
- It’s not clear consumers will ever see those cost savings. In addition, the proposed deal has not been warmly received by politicians in Washington.
- The boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal, but there’s likely to be pushback from Washington-based regulators before the merger is approved. Stay tuned.
