Kroger and Albertsons Discuss Merger

Kroger and Albertsons have been discussing a possible merger, according to reports. Kroger is expected to announce its deal to buy Albertsons this week. According to several reports, the merger would entail an all-cash acquisition and in turn, Albertsons’ shares jumped 11 percent due to reports of the merger.

For many years, the companies were pegged as rivals, and if the powerhouses joined forces, it would be one of the biggest mergers in years with a market valuation of approximately $47 billion and more than 5,000 stores would be combined. The merger would be of a similar size to Walmart. Albertsons has 2,273 locations in 34 states with several banners while Kroger has approximately 2,850 locations and several banners as well.

Officials have suggested that the deal may be examined by US antitrust authorities.

“This is the type of transaction that really looks good on paper, but the actual practicality of achieving regulatory approval by the FTC could be difficult,” Jennifer Bartashus with Bloomberg said. “If you think about the store bases of the two respective entities, there is a lot of overlap in very competitive markets.”