Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons would sell 579 stores in places where their locations overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based supplier to independent supermarkets that also owns the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly store brands.

Kroger and Albertsons in 2022 proposed what would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. But the Federal Trade Commission sued earlier this year, asking Nelson to block the $24.6 billion deal until an in-house administrative judge at the FTC could consider the merger’s implications. Nelson agreed to pause the merger.

But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued earlier this year, asking Nelson to block the $24.6 billion deal until an in-house administrative judge at the FTC could consider the merger. Attorneys general from Nevada, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming and the District of Columbia joined the FTC's lawsuit.