Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Gary M Galles
“Nearly two years ago, Kroger and Albertsons, America’s two largest traditional brick and mortar supermarket companies, agreed to a $24.6 billion merger. Ever since, the Federal Trade Commission has argued against allowing the merger, claiming that it would ‘lead to higher prices for groceries and other essential items’ and ‘lead to lower quality products and services.’ That led to a just-completed hearing (whose results have not yet been announced) about whether to grant an injunction against the merger, until the FTC takes its case before one of its administrative law judges. … the picture the FTC is painting of the ‘biggest getting bigger,’ leading to consumer harm, is so muddled it cannot support their argument.” (10/03/24)