Kroger’s $25 billion proposed takeover of rival Albertsons ultimately failed because two judges – one federal and the other from the state of Washington – didn’t buy the competitive vision the grocers were trying to sell,

The supermarket chain had tried to join forces with Kroger, but judges sided with federal and state regulators who charged that the merger would reduce competition.

Albertsons is giving up on its merger with Kroger a day after it was rejected in two courts and it is suing the chain, saying it didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval of the $24.6B agreement.