ROCK SPRINGS – The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted a preliminary injunction sought by the Federal Trade Commission to prevent Kroger from acquiring Albertsons Companies, Inc., in what would have been the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history Tuesday.

Kroger owns the Smith’s brand, which operates two grocery stores in Sweetwater County, while Albertsons operates a grocery store in Rock Springs. Under the proposed agreement, Albertsons would have sold the Rock Springs grocery store to the C&S Wholesale Grocers, along with four other Albertsons stores in Capser, Jackson, Gillette and Cheyenne. The sale was brought on after the FTC filed a lawsuit to bar the $24.6 billion merger. The merger was originally announced in 2022 but faced heavy criticism from unions and state governments opposed to the deal. Before the sale to C&S was proposed, the merger would have effectively created a duopoly in Rock Springs between Kroger and Wal-Mart. Wyoming originally joined the FTC’s lawsuit to block the merger in February, being one of nine states challenging it.

“The FTC, along with our state partners, scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons,” Henry Liu, the Bureau of Competition Director for the FTC said in a statement Tuesday. “This historic win protects millions of Americans across the country from higher prices for essential groceries—from milk, to bread, to eggs—ultimately allowing consumers to keep more money in their pockets. This victory has a direct, tangible impact on the lives of millions of Americans who shop at Kroger or Albertsons-owned grocery stores for their everyday needs, whether that’s a Fry’s in Arizona, a Vons in Southern California, or a Jewel-Osco in Illinois”

Liu said the decision was a victory for union employees as well, saying it protects their paychecks by ensuring the two companies continue to compete for workers “through higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions.”