Kroger and Albertsons Say the Merger Will Cut Prices. Their Shares Are Tumbling.

With inflation still an untamed threat, Friday’s announced merger of the grocers


Kroger


and


Albertsons


will spur debate about whether the consolidation will raise food prices, or lower them.

The Biden administration’s antitrust regulators are scrutinizing mergers more closely than did predecessors, and an old argument against combinations is that they lead to price-gouging.