Sen. Warren calls on FTC to block Kroger's planned Albertsons acquisition

Mario Tama

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is calling for the Federal Trade Commission to block Kroger's (NYSE:KR) planned $25 billion acquisition of rival supermarket chain Albertsons (NYSE:ACI).

"I’m calling on the FTC to block this deal," Warren tweeted on Wednesday. "Big grocery chains like Kroger and Albertsons are already gouging families with inflated prices. More mergers and less competition would mean even higher prices—and layoffs for employees."

Warren's tweet comes after a report on Tuesday that a U.S. Senate antitrust panel is expected to hold a hearing on the Albertsons (ACI) mega supermarket deal. It wasn't immediately known when the panel, a subcommittee of the judiciary committee led by Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R- UT), would hold the hearing on the transaction.

A Senate hearing and Warren's comments come as analysts and investors have been skeptical of the mega supermarket deal since it was announced on Friday as it combines some of the largest grocery store chains in the country under a Biden administration that has been attempting to be more pro competitive and has challenged several transactions.

Warren is no stranger to attempting to block deals. Late last month Warren, as well as five other members of Congress, were said to be urging the FTC to block Amazon's (AMZN) planned acquisition of iRobot (IRBT). Last month she also urged the Dept. of Justice to heavily scrutinize JetBlue's (JBLU) planned purchase of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and ultimately block the combination.