Almost all Mariano’s grocery stores in Lake and McHenry counties are expected to be sold as part of a proposal in a pending merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
Kroger and Albertsons said this week that the plan calls for 35 Mariano’s and Jewel-Osco locations in Illinois to be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers. None of the stores would close as part of the sale.
The stores in Lake and McHenry counties part of the divestiture plan include locations in Crystal Lake, Deerfield, Gurnee, Lake Zurich and Vernon Hills, according to a list released by the company.
In February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to block the merger between Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies, which is the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history.
The FTC said Kroger’s $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons is anticompetitive and would eliminate “fierce competition” between the two companies, leading to higher prices for groceries and other essential household items for Americans.
The FTC also argued the loss of competition will lead to lower quality products and services, while narrowing consumers’ choices for where to shop for groceries.
“This supermarket mega merger comes as American consumers have seen the cost of groceries rise steadily over the past few years. Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today,” Henry Liu, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in February.
“Essential grocery store workers would also suffer under this deal, facing the threat of their wages dwindling, benefits diminishing, and their working conditions deteriorating,” Liu said.
The action by the FTC resulted in Kroger and Albertsons announcing in April that they had amended their definitive agreement with C&S Wholesale Grocers to address “concerns raised by federal and state antitrust regulators.”
“We have reached an agreement with C&S for an updated divestiture package that maintains Kroger’s commitments to customers, associates and communities, addresses concerns raised by regulators, and will further ensure that C&S can successfully operate the divested stores as they are operated today,” Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s Chairman and CEO, said in late April.
“Importantly, the updated divestiture plan continues to ensure no stores will close as a result of the merger and that all frontline associates will remain employed, all existing collective bargaining agreements will continue, and associates will continue to receive industry-leading health care and pension benefits alongside bargained-for wages. Our proposed merger with Albertsons will bring lower prices and more choices to more customers and secure the long-term future of unionized grocery jobs,” McMullen said.
The companies announced the plan to sell 579 stores nationwide in April in an attempt to satisfy regulators and receive merger approval after their initial plan of selling 413 stores was deemed inadequate by the FTC.