WCPO: Kroger Co. approaching finish line on acquisition of Albertsons grocery chain
UC Law professor offers thoughts on pending merger
The clock is ticking as the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. moves closer to its mammoth acquisition of grocery store chain Albertsons Cos.
Kroger has taken a big step in the process by certifying to the Federal Trade Commission on Nov. 15 that its $24.6 billion deal with the Albertsons grocery chain substantially complies with antitrust rules. By law, there is a 30-day timeline for the FTC to accept the deal or sue to block it.
WCPO aired interviews with FTC Chair Lina Khan along with supporters and critics of the proposed acquisition, which would result in two of the nation’s largest supermarket chains merging into a 4,500-store giant.
Krogers says a bigger company will reduce prices and boost wages for union workers allowing it to best larger rivals such as Walmart and Amazon. Critics say it will give Kroger and Albertsons too much control of the grocery market, which could mean higher prices for consumers and lower pay for grocery employees.
UC Law Professor Felix Chang, an expert in antitrust law, also weighed in on the topic. He regularly teaches antitrust, business associations, securities regulation, and wills and estates.
UC Law Professor Felix Chang. Photo by Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
“I think regulators are really interested in … the effect of concentration in certain markets, particularly upon labor and upon sellers,” Chang told WCPO. “Grocery stores are really, really, important purchasers for manufacturers, for farmers. And the larger the purchaser, the more market power it has.”
Chang, co-director of the Corporate Law Center at UC Law, told WCPO that the FTC has signaled its concerns about market concentration in a set of proposed merger guidelines published in July.
Guideline 8 says mergers “should not further a trend toward concentration." Guideline 5 says mergers “should not substantially lessen competition by creating a firm that controls products or services that its rivals use to compete.”
While the guidelines are not law and yet to be finalized, they could signal a willingness by the FTC to challenge the Kroger-Albertsons deal with new legal arguments.
“It’ll be a really interesting test case if it really is going to be challenged in the court,” Chang told WCPO.
Listen to the WCPO story online.
Learn more about UC Law Professor Felix Chang.
Related Stories
How sports gambling is changing the game
February 13, 2026
Fantasy sports and the wager on which team will win a game are nothing new. But with sports gambling apps making it practically effortless for people to wager on just about any aspect of a match, gambling’s popularity is changing the game. The Journal-News turned to Mike Fry, professor of operations, business analytics and information systems at the University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business to break down the rise and the risks of sports betting.
Scientists: Slushy snowmelt isn’t just a nuisance
February 13, 2026
Slushy snowmelt isn’t just a nuisance, scientists say. It can send a toxic flood of road salt, sand and car exhaust, as well as dog poop, into rivers and streams, The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Yevgen Nazarenko, PhD, assistant professor of environmental and industrial hygiene in the Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, recently told The New York Times that research has shined a light on how pollution from all sorts of vehicles — planes, cars, trucks — can get trapped in the snow.
Can Cincinnati become a Blue Zone?
February 12, 2026
Under the Blue Zones Project umbrella, 75 U.S. cities currently are working on group diet and exercise programs while also changing the community’s culture, so that residents are encouraged to make healthy choices. Cincinnati is not an official Blue Zones Project city yet, but Florence Rothenberg, MD, adjunct professor of cardiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and clinical cardiologist at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, is leading one public effort to encourage a Blue Zone lifestyle. Her work was recently featured in Cincinnati Magazine.