Kroger’s $24.6 billion bid to buy its next largest rival, Albertsons Co., will soon rest in the hands of an Oregon federal judge — and the Portland-area grocery market could figure prominently in arguments over whether the merger will hurt workers and customers.
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson, a former Oregon Supreme Court justice appointed to the federal bench in 2023 by President Joe Biden, has been tasked to adjudicate the Federal Trade Commission’s request to block Kroger’s attempt to take over Albertsons.