Dec 10 (Reuters) – U.S. grocery chain Albertsons Firms Inc (ACI.N) stated that Washington State Courtroom had denied a request of preliminary injunction by the state’s Legal professional Normal to forestall the corporate from paying $4 billion to shareholders in a particular dividend.
The court docket has prolonged the prevailing short-term restraining order till Dec. 19 to present the Legal professional Normal a possibility to attraction, the corporate stated late on Friday.
It awaits a ruling on the request for one more preliminary injunction filed on Dec. 1 by the California, Illinois and District of Columbia Attorneys Normal in opposition to the beforehand introduced $6.85 per share dividend, in line with a press release.
Albertsons stated it continues to imagine that the claims are “meritless and offers no authorized foundation for stopping the cost of a dividend.”
Kroger (KR.N) snapped up Albertsons in a $25 billion deal in October, in a mega merger between the No. 1 and a pair of standalone grocers, saying that the deal would assist it higher compete in opposition to U.S. grocery business chief Walmart Inc (WMT.N) on costs. The deliberate acquisition has come underneath sharp criticism on antitrust grounds.
Kroger this month acquired a request for extra data from the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee as a part of the regulatory overview course of for the deliberate merger.
The Washington Legal professional Normal has stated that the dividend payout “dangers severely undercutting the grocery large’s potential to compete” in the course of the prolonged regulatory scrutiny.
Albertsons has maintained that it was in a robust place financially and that the dividend wouldn’t damage it.
Reporting by Rhea Binoy and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Modifying by Stephen Coates and Clelia Oziel
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