© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Kroger supermarket chain’s headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File Photo
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday that his office was concerned about Kroger (NYSE:)’s proposed deal to buy rival Albertsons (NYSE:) for $24.5 billion, and may sue to stop it.
Bonta said the decision has not been made, but added: “Right now there’s not a lot of reason not to sue.”
The deal, announced in October 2022, would create a grocery chain with nearly 5,000 stores, although up to 650 may be sold to win approval for the transaction.
Walmart (NYSE:) is the biggest U.S. grocer with 34.8% of the market, while a combined Kroger/Albertsons would be No. 2 at 22%, according to Food and Water Watch.
Bonta’s office had also been looking into whether the deal would make it harder for people in poorer parts of cities or rural areas to buy medicines because it would create “pharmacy deserts.”
Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities had inadequate access to needed pharmacy services.
