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Kroger on Monday said it has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed by C&S Wholesale Grocers over the retailer’s failed merger with Albertsons.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. As previously reported, C&S had filed a lawsuit in Delaware State Superior Court in March to collect a $125 million breakup fee it claimed it was owed due to the failure of the $24.6 billion merger.
C&S had previously agreed to play a key role in the merger by acquiring 579 Albertsons- and Kroger-owned stores and other assets, including private brands and infrastructure, to appease federal antitrust regulators, for about $2.9 billion. In rejecting the merger last year, regulators questioned the ability of C&S to operate a disparate network of hundreds of cast-off stores.
Albertsons has also sued Kroger to recover a $600 million termination fee, plus “relief reflecting the multiple years and hundreds of millions of dollars it devoted to obtaining approval for the merger, along with the extended period of unnecessary limbo Albertsons endured as a result of Kroger’s actions.” That lawsuit is still pending.
Kroger has since accused Albertsons of working secretly with C&S to pressure Kroger to sell more stores to C&S as a part of the merger, and said it therefore does not own Albertsons the $600 million fee.
Kroger cites “friendly relationship” with C&S
“We are pleased to resolve the claims from C&S, and we look forward to a friendly relationship with them going forward,” said Ron Sargent, chairman and CEO of Kroger, in a statement.
C&S, meanwhile, has since remained active on the acquisition front, purchasing a stake in Winn-Dixie parent Southeastern Grocers and reaching an agreement to acquire Midwestern wholesaler and retailer SpartanNash, which is expected to close in late 2025.
“We are pleased to have reached this resolution with Kroger,” a spokesperson for C&S said in a statement provided to Supermarket News. “We are looking forward to our continued transformation journey.”
The spokesperson listed several growth initiatives underway at C&S in addition to the recent acquisitions, including investments in automation in the Northeast and its expansion on the West Coast with GreenBox.
C&S also closed a Baldwin, Fla., warehouse earlier this year.
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