Kroger’s $25 billion proposed takeover of rival Albertsons ultimately failed because two judges – one federal and the other from the state of Washington – didn’t buy the competitive vision the grocers were trying to sell,

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 grocers both signaled that they are in strong financial shape and said they would devote billions of dollars to repurchase shares from investors.