The grocery giant Kroger announced plans on Friday to acquire Albertsons in a deal that could reshape the supermarket landscape in the United States.

The deal would unite the country’s two largest supermarket chains, which have been forced by rising costs and competition from Walmart and Amazon to choose between cutting into their profit or the customer’s wallet.

Kroger said it will pay $34.10 per share to acquire Albertsons, valuing the company at about $24.6 billion including debt. The per-share price is about 20 percent more than Albertsons stock ended trading at on Thursday, a level already elevated by reports that a deal with Kroger was in the works.

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Even before the deal was announced on Friday, consumer protection groups had begun to raise concerns about the possibility following reports of a possible merger. The American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit that promotes antitrust legislation, criticized it as a “bad deal for consumers, workers and communities.”

“There is no reason to allow two of the biggest supermarket chains in the country to merge — especially with food prices already soaring,” Sarah Miller, the group’s executive, said in a statement on Thursday.

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