U.S. grocery company Kroger Co (KR.N) is in talks to merge with smaller rival Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) in a tie-up that would create a supermarket titan, people familiar with the matter said.

The merger of the nation’s No. 1 and 2 standalone grocers, if reached, could provide the retailers with a leg up in negotiations with consumer-product makers such as Procter & Gamble (PG.N) and Unilever (ULVR.L) at a time of steep price hikes.

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Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly nonprofit, said the deal would “squeeze consumers already struggling to afford food.”

“This merger is a cut and dried case of monopoly power, and enforcers should block it,” Miller said.

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