Merger in the supermarket industry

A Brattle economist was retained by an interested third party in connection with a proposed merger of two large supermarket chains. Brattle obtained and analyzed industry data on store locations and sales, identified a number of relevant geographic markets where the proposed merger raised concerns regarding a lessening of competition under the Merger Guidelines, and suggested divestitures to resolve such concerns. Brattle’s findings were presented to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as well as a state attorney general. The merger was permitted subject to a number of divestitures.