Kroger and Albertsons make a final pitch for their merger before a judge decides whether to block it

Associated Press Writers

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kroger and Albertsons have made their final argument in federal court in support of their proposed merger. Lawyers for the Federal Trade Commission and for the supermarket chains gave closing arguments on Tuesday at the end of a three-week hearing on the commission’s request for a temporary injunction to block the $24.6 billion deal. Kroger and Albertsons argued their merger would preserve consumer choice by allowing them to better compete against growing rivals like Walmart, Costco and Amazon. A U.S. District Court judge in Portland, Oregon, will now decide whether to issue the injunction while the FTC’s anti-trust complaint goes goes before an in-house administrative law judge.