Colorado still awaits a ruling from a Denver judge in a case brought by Attorney General Phil Weiser that opposes a merger of grocery store giants Kroger and Albertsons after two rulings blocking the merger in other states were announced Tuesday.

Weiser, a Democrat, said in a news conference Wednesday that the rulings judges in Oregon and Washingtonissued “are highly suggestive of what we’re going to hear from the Colorado court as well.”

In February, Weiser sued to block the merger between Kroger, which operates King Soopers and City Market stores in Colorado, and Albertsons, which operates the Safeway brand. Weiser’s lawsuit alleges that the deal violates state antitrust laws and would inflict “substantial harm” on Colorado consumers and workers.

Image

Weiser said public statements Albertsons has made indicating the merger is off will have no “conclusive impact” on the Colorado court case, as both companies still need to give “official word” that they plan to stop the merger. He said it’s possible the Denver judge could call back the parties involved for more information given the latest rulings, but he hasn’t heard of that happening yet.

“I do not believe this merger is going to happen.
There were two very serious blows against the merger with the rulings yesterday,” Weiser said. “I believe our case is on a similar track, and even though the parties could appeal at this point, they’d have to appeal in at least more than one jurisdiction to be able to try to salvage this merger.”

Albertsons said it canceled its merger agreement on Wednesday and sued Kroger, alleging the larger grocer didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval for its 2022 agreement to buy Albertsons. Weiser said he didn’t know the details of the latest lawsuit and declined to comment on it during the press conference.

Asked for comment, a Kroger representative said nobody was available to respond.

Image

Even if the companies officially pursue plans to cease the merger, the Colorado district court will still have to rule on Weiser’s allegation that during a 2022 King Soopers strike the companies improperly engaged in no-poach and non-solicitation agreements, the attorney general said. The Colorado lawsuit claims Albertsons leadership agreed not to hire any King Soopers employees or solicit King Soopers pharmacy customers during the strike.

“These two companies entered an agreement that harmed workers, and they need to be held to account for that,” Weiser said.

Colorado grocery store workers also filed a lawsuit at the end of November claiming the two grocery store giants struck a deal to prevent Albertsons from hiring King Soopers workers who went on strike. Weiser said the state’s case seeks civil penalties related to the alleged agreements, while the separate case workers filed seeks damages “that workers are entitled to based on the harm that they suffered” due to a lack of competition.

Weiser said he doesn’t expect to see stores closing from either company in the event the merger is permanently blocked. Rather, store closures would have been expected if the merger went through, he said.

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.