Antitrust experts say a few core issues prompted the judges to say no the merger, ultimately dooming the deal.

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.

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.