Merger that would force sale of Maryland Harris Teeters is blocked

In his ruling Tuesday, a federal judge sided with federal regulators, temporarily blocking the merger of two national grocery giants and halting sales of some Harris Teeter stores.

The Federal Trade Commission, along with nine states, including Maryland, filed a lawsuit in February challenging Kroger Co.’s $24.6 billion bid to buy Albertsons Companies Inc. The plaintiffs claimed the merger would reduce competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

Kroger’s plan to merge with Albertsons originally included the condition that the company sell ten of its Harris Teeter stores in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a private wholesale grocery supply chain, the Grand Union grocery stores and the Piggly Wiggly Franchise operates.

In her ruling after a three-week hearing in Oregon, U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson said the merger should be put on hold while an internal FTC administrative law judge examines its impact more closely.

“Any harm caused to defendants by the injunction cannot offset the strong public interest in antitrust enforcement, particularly given the difficulty of disentangling a premature merger,” Nelson wrote in her opinion.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.