Contradicting a ruling in Washington state, a federal judge in the District of Columbia has ruled that Albertsons can proceed with a large shareholder payment ahead of a planned acquisition by Kroger.
The D.C. attorney general had sued to stop Albertsons, the No. 2 pure-play grocer in America, from making a $4 billion payout to shareholders. He argued that doing so would impede Albertsons’ ability to compete, forcing it to go ahead with the deal with Kroger, the No. 1 grocer.
Similar suits have been brought by attorneys general in several states. One of them, in Washington state, succeeded in getting a judge to issue a temporary injunction against the payment. But the D.C. judge rejected that argument, concluding that the payout was a separate matter from the Kroger deal.
The $24.6 billion deal remains blocked until the Washington case and others are resolved.
