Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general announced the filing of a lawsuit that challenges the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, the two largest national supermarket chains in the country. This merger presents a significant risk of reduced competition and higher food prices nationwide.

“Nevadans made their concerns known regarding this merger, and we listened,” said AG Ford. “This merger would create an anticompetitive marketplace, raise prices on everyday Nevadans and harm grocery store employees. As anyone who does the shopping for their family knows, grocery prices have climbed high in recent years. Nevadans don’t deserve for those prices to climb any higher."

Part of the role and responsibility of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General is the enforcement of consumer protection statutes, including antitrust laws. This enforcement includes taking legal action when necessary to protect Nevadans’s consumer rights. 

In the buildup to the lawsuit’s filing, AG Ford, joined for some by FTC Chair Lina Khan, held a series of listening sessions with the community about the proposed merger. In addition, the Office of the Attorney General took thousands of statements regarding the merger online through a dedicated portal.

The lawsuit seeks to block the proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger, alleging it is in violation of the federal Clayton Act which prohibits the acquisition of assets where the effect of such acquisitions may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly. Businesses facing less competition have the ability to charge higher prices without providing improvements to the quality of goods.

Anticompetitive supermarket mergers can impose other harms, including a reduction in labor market competition which may lower wages or slow wage growth, worsen benefits or working conditions, or result in other degradations of workplace quality.

In filing today's lawsuit, Attorney General Ford joins the FTC, along with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming.

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