A PYMNTS Company

Washington Court Declines To Review Albertsons’ $4B Dividend Case

By  |  January 18, 2023

Washington state’s highest court on Tuesday cleared the way for Albertsons Companies to pay a $4 billion dividend ahead of the grocer’s proposed deal with rival Kroger, as the justices declined to take up a claim that the payout would harm industry competition.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The Washington Supreme Court made the decision after a lower court judge refused last month to issue a preliminary injunction against the dividend. The Washington attorney general’s office in November sued to block the dividend, arguing that it would weaken Albertsons before Kroger’s $25 billion purchase.

    Read more: FTC Issues 2nd Request To Kroger On Albertsons Deal

    Kroger is the country’s largest supermarket chain, and Albertsons is the second largest. The merger proposal will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which polices merger and acquisition activity for compliance with antitrust law.

    The decision was a rare win for the grocer, which has faced blowback for its merger proposal from unions and some Democratic members of the U.S. Congress.

    An Albertsons spokesperson did not immediately comment on the court’s order, but the company has said it would move to make the dividend payment as soon as possible.