A proposed $24.6 billion merger between the Albertsons and Kroger supermarket store chains is on hold, for now, until Colorado District Court Judge rules on a lawsuit filed by the state’s Attorney General that is aimed at permanently blocking the deal.

Filed in court on Tuesday, an agreement made between the office of Attorney General Phil Weiser and the supermarket companies, eliminates a need for a preliminary injunction hearing that was scheduled to begin Aug. 12. Instead, the court is now set to hear the attorney general’s case requesting a permanent injunction on the merger in a case set to begin Sept. 30.

Filed in February, Weiser’s lawsuit seeks to block the merger entirely based on allegations the proposed deal, which was announced in October 2022, would eliminate head-to-head competition between the supermarket chains in Colorado communities.

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In a statement released Wednesday, Weiser welcomed the pause on the merger deal.

“This is great news for shoppers, workers, farmers, and other suppliers, who can rest assured that this mega-merger will not go into effect during harvest season and while kids are headed back to school,” Weiser said in a statement. “The trial is set to begin on Sept. 30 and my office looks forward to making the case that this merger will eliminate competition and impact food prices, jobs, and consumer choice.”

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A Kroger spokesperson similarly described the court ruling as a welcome one.

“We look forward to defending in court how the combination of Kroger and Albertsons will provide meaningful, measurable benefits, including lower prices and more choices for families across the country and more opportunities for stable, well-paying union jobs,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Kroger operates 148 King Soopers and City Market stores in Colorado, and Albertsons operates 105 Safeway and Albertsons stores in Colorado, making them two of the largest supermarket chains in the state.

If it proceeds, the proposed merger could have a particular impact on certain Colorado markets where the grocery store brands owned by the two companies operate in close competition.

That is the case in Steamboat Springs, where Walmart offers a limited selection of groceries and there are few options outside of City Market, Safeway and Natural Grocers.

As part of the proposed merger deal, the companies have agreed to sell 91 Colorado stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers as a way to ease concerns in markets such as Steamboat where few options for Steamboat consumers exist outside of those locations.

The C&S sell-off plans include the Safeway location in Steamboat, according to an announcement released in June, which stated that C&S would not close any stores as a result of the merger and all frontline associates employed at the locations would keep their jobs.

In a statement announcing the state’s lawsuit in February, Weiser said the proposed merger would create apprehension in many communities.

“Coloradans are concerned about undue consolidation and its harmful impacts on consumers, workers and suppliers,” Weiser said in contesting the proposed merger. “After 19 town halls across the state, I am convinced that Coloradans think this merger between the two supermarket chains would lead to stores closing, higher prices, fewer jobs, worse customer service and less resilient supply chains.”

Outside of the Colorado Attorney General’s lawsuit, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also pursuing its own legal action. Filed in February, the federal lawsuit also seeks to block the supermarket chain merger.

In statement released when the lawsuit was announced, the FTC said the proposed merger amounted to a “a hodgepodge of unconnected stores, banners, brands and other assets that Kroger’s antitrust lawyers have cobbled together and falls far short of mitigating the lost competition between Kroger and Albertsons.”

The proposed Kroger and Albertsons merger cannot proceed until the federal and state lawsuits are settled.