Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called Tuesday’s decision to block the proposed merger of supermarket giants Kroger and Alberson’s “a major victory for consumers, workers and small businesses across the country."

U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the merger Tuesday after conducting a three-week hearing in Porland, Ore.

Later Tuesday, Judge Marshall Ferguson in Seattle issued a permanent injunction barring the merger in Washington after concluding that it would lessen competition in the state.

Kroger and Albertsons in 2022 proposed what would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. But the Federal Trade Commission sued earlier this year, asking Nelson to block the $24.6 billion deal until an in-house administrative judge at the FTC could consider the merger’s implications.

Nelson agreed to pause the merger.

“Any harms defendants experience as a result of the injunction do not overcome the strong public interest in the enforcement of antitrust law, especially given the difficulty in disentangling a premature merger,” she wrote in her opinion.

Mayes said: “Had this merger gone forward, it could have harmed families by reducing choices, driving up prices and eliminating jobs. Here in Arizona, where countless communities rely on accessible, affordable grocery options, this decision helps ensure that residents won't face the potentially devastating impacts of such a consolidation.”

In February 2024, Attorney General Mayes joined the FTC and a bipartisan group of attorneys general in suing to block the merger. 

The case may now move to the FTC, although Kroger and Albertsons have asked a different federal judge to block the in-house proceedings.

Colorado and Washington are also trying to halt the merger in ongoing state trials. The judge in Washington was expected to release his opinion later Tuesday.

The FTC argued that Kroger and Albertsons compete in 22 states, closely matching each other on price, quality, private label products and services like store pickup.

A merger would eliminate that competition and raise prices for already struggling consumers, the government said. The FTC also said the merger would hurt workers since Kroger and Albertsons would no longer compete to hire them.

Independent Newsmedia contributed to this story.