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Dive Brief:
A federal judge has ordered Kroger and Albertsons to halt their plans to merge.
The ruling Tuesday by Judge Adrienne Nelson of the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, notes that “supermarkets are distinct from other grocery retailers” and that “the merger would lead to undue market concentration in multiple geographic markets in both the supermarkets and large format stores markets that would presumptively lessen competition.”
The preliminary injunction follows a nearly monthlong trial during which the Federal Trade Commission said the grocers would harm consumers and workers if they were permitted to combine.