U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson issued an order Tuesday granting a preliminary injunction to halt the $25 billion deal. Nelson found that the FTC and several state attorneys general were likely to prevail in their argument that the merger violates antitrust law.

Merger would curtail competition for grocery shoppers, Oregon court finds in a decision that could derail the deal.

The proposed $24.6 billion merger between supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons floundered on Tuesday after judges overseeing two separate cases both halted the merger.