After nearly two years of “dancing” the Kroger & Albertson grocery store merger was called off.
In addition to all that time and effort, the two companies reportedly spent close to $1 billion in fees and expenses toward the deal.
All for nothing – and anyone want to guess who will ultimately pay for that $ billion.
And we wonder why grocery prices are so high? Corporate actions do nothing to help bring them down.
With a new US administration coming in January – supposedly with a new attitude toward corporate M&A, things may change.
All the bankers, lawyers and advisors are hoping it.
For now, the grocery store picture is unchanged. Krager is the largest by revenue. Here’s a chart showing the top worldwide leaders in the grocery business.
For comparison purposes – look at the 2nd chart where we compare those same grocery stores’ revenue to the size of Walmart and Target. Both those chains sell grocery products and part of the Kroger argument for letting the merger go thru. The case they tried to make was that Walmart and Target are who they are really competing against – not the rest of the grocery industry. Obviously, Walmart and Target sell a lot more than grocery stores, but this picture shows their potential market clout & influence.
