Washington state decide schedules listening to on Albertsons dividend for subsequent Thursday

A Washington state decide set subsequent Thursday for a preliminary injunction listening to on Albertsons (NYSE:ACI) plan to pay a $4 billion dividend along with its deliberate sale to Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR).

King County Superior Court docket Choose Ken Schubert dominated in a Zoom listening to on Thursday after greater than an hour of arguments from from the grocery store chains and Washington state attorneys.

The Thursday listening to got here after a King County Superior Court docket Commissioner Henry Judson decide granted a short lived restraining order final Thursday that blocked fee of Albertsons (ACI) dividend, which was initially scheduled to be paid on Monday.

Judson agreed to increase the short-term restraining order on fee of the dividend till subsequent Thursday, Schubert mentioned on the Zoom listening to.

A federal decide in Washington, D.C. dominated Tuesday Albertsons (ACI) can proceed with the dividend. US District Choose Carl Nichols denied the request made by attorneys normal in California, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. to dam the dividend quickly.

The go well with in Washington accuses the 2 firms of violating antitrust and client safety legal guidelines and seeks to dam the fee to shareholders on these grounds.

On Friday Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 4 different lawmakers requested non-public fairness agency Cerberus to halt the fee of the Albertsons (ACI) dividend. Warren final month referred to as for the Federal Commerce Fee to dam Kroger’s (KR) deliberate $25 billion deal.