Got this email from an MNB reader:
I believe the final ruling on the merger will come down to who best defines “grocery store” for the courts. If it’s the broader definition that includes WMT, Costco, Dollar General, Target, delivery & remote options, etc., Kroger will prevail. If the 1980s / FTC definition of “four wall store only” is accepted by the courts, the FTC will succeed in blocking it.
And, if the FTC wins, they will have to accept the consequences of the rapid breakup of Albertsons by Cerberus to whoever the highest bidder is for the store sites. If that happens, the FTC can look to themselves for actually reducing competition for food and the elimination of thousands of union jobs. Cerberus will get their money – one way or the other; those are the people who do not care about jobs when there is money involved.
Our story about the FTC vs. Kroger-Albertsons yesterday included an acronym: SSNIPT.
MNB reader Steve Burbridge wrote:
I was curious as to the acronym’s definition and I found this article from an M&A law firm:
The new Merger Guidelines introduce a new test for predicting unlawful mergers. Where prior guidelines have focused on the potential for a small but significant and non-transitory increase in price – the so-called “SSNIP” test, the new guidance extends this test. The agencies would purport to investigate the potential for an increase in price “or other worsening of terms” – naming this the “SSNIPT” test.
So SSNIPT stands for “Small but Significant and Non-transitory Increase in Price Test.” Geez. That’s a mouthful.
And finally, responding to yesterday’s test taste of McDonald’s new burger recipes, one MNB reader wrote:
Thanks for taking the bullet for us!
Bullet is right. I’d say it was my pleasure, but it wasn’t. My stomach felt lousy for hours.
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