A grocery mega-merger just failed. Could it shape the future of antitrust?

Breakups are always hard. Especially when you’re two of the largest grocery mega-conglomerates in the country. 

Last week two judges – including a federal judge in Oregon and a superior court judge based in Seattle – officially blocked a merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons. The companies had argued they needed to unite to compete with the likes of Wal-Mart. 

While an appeal is possible, Albertsons has backed out of the merger altogether and is now suing Kroger for $600 million over legal fees and the shareholder value it claims it lost in the merger attempt. 

It’s a big deal for the state of Washington, and not only because Governor-Elect Bob Ferguson sued to stop the merger as Attorney General. He argued it would lower competition in the industry and raise grocery prices. 

It was also a big deal because it would’ve meant the likely sale of 124 grocery stores here – the most of any state – to a third-party company.

So... the big grocery merger is dead a major victory for Ferguson and FTC chair Lina Khan, who’s credited with reviving the federal government’s role in antitrust enforcement. 

But this is also an inflection point for the future of antitrust. President Trump has tapped new leaders for the FTC and the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is wrapping up a hearing on “A Bipartisan Path Forward for Antitrust," where Senator Amy Klobuchar says she hopes to highlight the ways Democrats and Republicans can work together on tackling anti-competitive monopolies, including in the tech industry.    

So what happened to spoil the Kroger-Albertsons partnership plans, and will the next big merger go forward under Trump? 

Soundside spoke with John Kirkwood, a professor at Seattle University School of Law. He’s a nationally-renowned antitrust expert and established the first antitrust policy office at the FTC. 

Soundside also spoke with Stacy Mitchell, the co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The group opposed the Albertsons-Kroger merger. Mitchell wrote two recent articles in The Atlantic exploring the history of food deserts what the merger's failure means for the FTC going forward. 

Guests:

• John Kirkwood, professor at Seattle University School of Law. He’s a nationally-renowned antitrust expert and established the first antitrust policy office at the FTC. 
• Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Related links: 

• Read Stacy Mitchell's story in The Atlantic here: The Hidden Cause of Food Deserts - The Atlantic
• Lina Khan Goes Out With a Bang - The Atlantic
• Building an oasis in a rural WA ‘food desert’ | The Seattle Times
• KUOW - Albertsons calls off merger with Kroger. Now what?

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