Deals

Kroger Counters Amazon’s Grocery Offensive With Ocado Deal

  • U.K. online grocer’s shares soar after landmark U.S. deal
  • Kroger to take 5 percent stake in Ocado in exclusive contract

Kroger Partners With U.K.'s Ocado

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Kroger Co. is fighting back against Amazon.com Inc.’s incursion into the supermarket aisle and Walmart Inc.’s beefed-up e-commerce offering through a deal with U.K. online grocer Ocado Group Plc.

Kroger agreed to buy a stake in Ocado and license technology that helps other grocers run automated warehouses and deliver food to customers’ doors. The deal, the British company’s biggest yet and its first in the U.S., lifted its shares as much as 62 percentBloomberg Terminal to a record in London.