Thwarted by federal and state judges, Albertsons gave up on its proposed $24.6 billion sale to Kroger and sued its would-be merger partner.

The supermarket chain had tried to join forces with Kroger, but judges sided with federal and state regulators who charged that the merger would reduce competition.

On Wednesday, the day after a federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington blocked a merger between two supermarket giants, Albertsons canceled the $24.6 billion merger agreement and sued Kroger.