不过，由于担心减少市场竞争和损害消费者权益，这笔交易面临着来自监管机构的法律诉讼。今年2月，美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)提起诉讼，要求阻止这笔并购交易，称其将导致消费者支付更高的价格。八个州和华盛顿特区也与监管机构联手阻止了这笔交易。科罗拉多州和华盛顿州也分别提起诉讼，试图终止该合并协议。RBC analyst Steven Shemesh stated that if the trade where the USA grocery company Albertsons (operation usa) is sold to the peer Kroger for nearly 25 billion dollars is rejected by the court, then Albertsons' stock price could reach $21 per share.
According to the China Fortune Finance app, RBC analyst Steven Shemesh stated that if the USA grocery company Albertsons (ACI.US) is sold to the peer Kroger (KR.US) for nearly 25 billion dollars and the trade is rejected by the court, then Albertsons' stock price could reach $21 per share. On Monday, Albertsons closed at $18.26.
Data shows that in October 2022, Kroger announced the acquisition of Albertsons for 24.6 billion dollars. This merger will create a new grocery giant operating thousands of stores across the USA and become one of the largest employers in the USA, with hundreds of thousands of workers.
However, due to concerns about reducing market competition and harming consumer rights, this trade is facing legal challenges from regulatory institutions. In February of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to block this acquisition, stating that it would lead to consumers paying higher prices. Eight states and the District of Columbia also joined forces with regulatory institutions to block this trade. Colorado and Washington also separately filed lawsuits in an attempt to terminate the merger agreement.
In April of this year, Albertsons and Kroger also announced that they would sell a total of 579 stores across the USA to ease regulatory concerns about the proposed merger, smoothly pass antitrust reviews, and ensure the healthy development of market competition. Earlier in August, Kroger stated that after completing the merger with Albertsons, the company plans to reduce food and grocery prices by $1 billion to give back to consumers. This amount is double the company's previous commitment of $0.5 billion, aiming to alleviate antitrust concerns about this acquisition.
Analyst Steven Shemesh stated: "If the trade fails, we believe Albertsons' management will reconsider other ways to create shareholder value as determined in the company's 2022 global strategy evaluation." The analyst's rating for Albertsons' stocks is "shareholding", with a target price of $23. He also added: "We feel that fundamental investors will have to enter around $16."
