Antitrust experts say a few core issues prompted the judges to say no the merger, ultimately dooming the deal.

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 ...

Walmart controls around 22%. Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons - who compete in 22 states - agreed to sell 579 stores in places where their locations overlap to C&S Wholesale ...

Under the merger agreement, Kroger and Albertsons — who compete in 22 states — agreed to sell 579 stores in places where ...

The judge separately weighed the plan by Kroger and Albertsons to sell hundreds of their stores to a firm called C&S Wholesale Grocers as a condition of their merger, meant to appease regulators.

In efforts to calm these concerns, Kroger released a plan to divest in 579 stores nationwide, including selling 101 Safeway and Albertsons stores in Arizona to East Coast chain C&S Wholesale Grocers.