HARRISBURG, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – Koninklijke Ahold N.V, the owner of Giant-Carlisle and Martin's supermarkets, and Delhaize Group NV/SA, the owner of Food Lion supermarkets, have agreed to settle a case involving competition concerns related to their $28 billion proposed merger.
The retailers are the parent companies of many supermarket chains in the United States and Europe. In June 2015, Ahold announced it would merge with Delhaize. Following this move, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office, along with others, filed a lawsuit and proposed consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Joining Pennsylvania in the lawsuit were the Federal Trade Commission and Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and West Virginia. The lawsuit claimed the merger would be anti-competitive.
To settle the case and move forward with the merger, the companies agreed to divest 76 supermarket stores nationwide.
"The sale of these stores will not only preserve the competition necessary to keep prices low, but it will also provide an excellent alternative for consumers," Kane said.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Kirk and Deputy Attorney General Aaron Schwartz of the Office of Attorney General’s Antitrust Section handled the case.