Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched an anti-trust investigation of the proposed merger between the Kroger and Albertson’s companies.
Mayes says she’s concerned about how the proposal could impact consumer grocery prices in the state and whether it could cause store closures that would force people to travel farther for groceries, potentially creating food deserts that disproportionately affect minority communities.
Kroger, which operates Fry’s Food and Drug Stores, and Albertson’s, which operates Albertson’s and Safeway stores, account for half of grocery sales in Arizona, operate more than 250 locations and employ 35,000 people in the state.
Mayes says a merger could result in unfair buying power forcing smaller ranchers and farmers out of business in favor of corporate producers. The companies proposed the merger last October and want to close the nearly $25 billion deal by early next year.