Kroger, Albertsons — still hoping to merge — agree to sell more stores to satisfy regulators

By DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer

Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons say they will sell more of their stores in an effort to quell the federal government’s concerns about their proposed merger. The companies said Monday they would now sell 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based grocery company, for $2.9 billion. Kroger and Albertsons announced their proposed merger in 2022, and last fall they said they would sell 413 stores to C&S in markets where stores overlap. But the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger in February, saying a lack of competition would raise grocery prices and the planned sale to C&S was inadequate.