T he biggest supermarket merger in American history is dead. In the space of just a few hours on December 10th, federal and state judges both sided with the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ), America’s main antitrust regulator,

A federal judge blocked the deal and sided with the Federal Trade Commission, which raised antitrust concerns over the merger.

Merger would curtail competition for grocery shoppers, Oregon court finds in a decision that could derail the deal.