Ohio AG Dave Yost urges federal judge to allow Kroger-Albertsons merger [Video]

CINCINNATI — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined his counterparts in Alabama, Georgia and Iowa in asking a federal judge to let the Kroger Co. acquire the Albertsons Grocery Chain.

In an amicus brief filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon Wednesday, the attorneys general argued the Federal Trade Commission has a “simplistic vision of the retail grocery market” and should not be allowed to block the $24.6 billion merger.

“The FTC’s tunnel vision in this case risks chilling the very competition that it seeks to protect,” Yost said in a press release. “A full view of the competitive landscape shows no reason to delay this deal further.”

The FTC joined with seven states and the District of Columbia in a February filing that asks Judge Adrienne Nelson to block the merger with a preliminary injunction. Judge Nelson has scheduled a three-week hearing to determine whether the merger would …