FreshFruitPortal.com reported on March 26 that Kroger had filed a legal response to Albertsons' recent claims. The Idaho company accused Kroger of overlooking an $800 million offer aimed at improving the merger's chances of receiving regulatory approval.

Kroger fired back, stating that Albertsons had engaged in a “secret and misguided campaign” with C&S Wholesale Grocers, the divestiture buyer, to pursue its own regulatory strategy, which ultimately undermined Kroger's efforts to consolidate the merger.

A spokesperson for Albertsons reached out to FreshFruitPortal.com to respond to these claims, stating that they will be presenting the case in court.

“Kroger’s weak claims are a deliberate tactic to distract from its own ongoing executive leadership issues; blatant and recurring failures to carry out its contractual obligations under the Merger Agreement; and avoid paying the damages it owes to Albertsons. Albertsons was steadfastly committed to the success of the combination from the outset,” they said. 

The source stressed that Kroger “did not hold up its end of the bargain, despite its duty under the Merger Agreement to take ‘any and all actions’ to address regulatory concerns. As highlighted by multiple judges in the decisions blocking the merger, Kroger acted in its own financial self-interest, proposing insufficient divestiture packages that repeatedly ignored regulators’ concerns, mismanaging the process of identifying a divestiture buyer, and failing to cooperate with Albertsons.” 

“Kroger’s self-interested conduct doomed the merger, and we are now focused on returning value to Albertsons’ shareholders to compensate for those losses. We look forward to presenting our case in court,” the spokesperson pointed out.

In early December, Albertsons Companies announced it would officially terminate its pending $25 billion merger agreement with the Cincinnati grocer. This decision followed rulings from two courts blocking the long-pending deal, which was first announced in 2022.

Related articles: 

Kroger declined Albertsons’ $800M merger settlement, lawsuit says

Kroger sued again over failed merger termination fee with C&S

Kroger CEO resigns amidst investigation over 'personal conduct'