If the supermarket megamerger goes through as proposed, Safeway stores in Colorado would be owned by two companies. Neither would be the current owner Albertsons, which would fade into acquirer and King Soopers parent,

Supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons have been locking horns with Colorado’s attorney general for nearly three weeks as the companies defend their $25 billion merger in Denver district court. Colorado is seeking to block the deal,

McMullen and Aitken emphasized that Walmart, with 3.5 times the grocery sales of Kroger, is the key competitor not Albertsons. Kroger has built its business strategy entirely around matching Walmart’s prices and staying ahead of a host of other rivals like Costco,