Factbox-US deals blocked by regulators or facing intense scrutiny

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge blocked the pending $25-billion merger of U.S. grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons on Tuesday, in the latest win for the Federal Trade Commission under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Here are other deals that have fallen through, been blocked, or face scrutiny:

DEALS TERMINATED

DEAL VALUE CONTEXT

JetBlue-Sp $3.8 JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines

irit billion scrapped their $3.8-billion merger

Airlines agreement in March 2024, with the

low-cost carriers saying there was

no path forward after a U.S. judge

blocked the deal in January on

anti-competition concerns.

Tapestry-C $8.5 Tapestry abandoned its bid for

apri billion Michael Kors owner Capri after a

judge blocked it following a lawsuit

by the Federal Trade Commission

(FTC), nipping the possible creation

of a U.S. luxury giant to compete

with European behemoths.

Avangrid $8.3 Iberdrola’s U.S. unit Avangrid Inc

Inc-PNM billion said in January 2024 it had

Resources terminated its planned $8.3 billion

acquisition of rival PNM Resources,

because it could not get all the

necessary regulatory approvals to

close the deal by Dec. 31, 2023.

DEALS BLOCKED

DEAL VALUE CONTEXT

Kroger-Alb $25 A U.S. district judge in Portland,

ertsons billion Oregon, as well as a Washington state

court judge in Seattle blocked the

pending $25 billion merger between the

top two traditional grocery chains,

Kroger and Albertsons, leaving the

companies to consider their options.

DEALS UNDER SCRUTINY

DEAL VALUE CONTEXT

UnitedHeal $3.3 The U.S. Department of Justice and

th billion three U.S. states filed a lawsuit in

Group-Amed November 2024 to block UnitedHealth

isys Inc Group’s $3.3 billion acquisition of

Amedisys Inc, citing concerns that

the deal would reduce competition in

the home health services market.

Capital $35.3 New York Attorney General Letitia

One- billion James is investigating whether

Discover Capital One’s proposed $35.3 billion

Financial takeover of Discover Financial

Services Services violates the state’s

antitrust law, the state said in

October 2024.

Nippon $14.9 Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for

Steel-U.S. billion U.S. Steel has faced opposition by

Steel both newly elected President Donald

Trump and the outgoing Biden

administration. A top Nippon Steel

executive and U.S. Steel’s CEO met

with senior U.S. officials in

September in an effort to salvage the

deal.

Tempur $4 billion The U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Sealy said in July 2024 it would sue to

Internatio block the $4 billion merger between

nal- mattress manufacturer Tempur Sealy

Mattress International Inc and retailer

Firm Mattress Firm. Tempur Sealy now

expects to close the deal later this

year or early 2025.

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)