Albertsons will ask a Delaware court for more than $9.3 billion in damages from Kroger, with the trial set to open Monday in Delaware Chancery Court over the collapse of their $24.6 billion merger agreement.

The claim is one of the largest damages demands between two major US food retailers in recent memory. At stake is who bears responsibility for a deal that was announced at $24.6 billion and ultimately never closed.

Who will testify?

Former chief executives of both companies are slated to testify. Their appearance on the stand will anchor a two-week proceeding in Delaware Chancery Court, the venue that handles corporate governance disputes for most large American companies incorporated in the state.

The scheduled witness list signals that the court fight will reach the top of both organizations. The former CEOs led the grocers during the period the merger was negotiated, contested and abandoned — the period now at the center of the damages claim.

What is the money about?

Albertsons is seeking more than $9.3 billion from Kroger in connection with the failed transaction. The $24.6 billion deal, once positioned as a landmark combination of two national grocery chains, collapsed without completion.

For scale: the damages claim alone equals roughly 38% of the deal's original headline value of $24.6 billion. Albertsons is effectively arguing that Kroger should pay a sum approaching two-fifths of what the merger was worth on paper.

How long will the trial run?

The trial is scheduled for two weeks in Delaware Chancery Court. Former executives from both grocers are slated to take the stand across that window, according to the case schedule.

A two-week timetable is compressed for a dispute of this size. It indicates the court intends to move quickly through testimony that will include the companies' most senior former leadership.

Why does the figure matter?

The $9.3 billion-plus demand dwarfs typical post-merger litigation stakes between grocery operators. The number — and the $24.6 billion deal value it relates to — frames the dispute as a fight over the largest abandoned supermarket transaction in the sector's recent history.

Both companies are among the biggest food retailers in the United States. A judgment approaching the claimed amount would represent one of the largest damages awards ever between two American grocers.

What happens Monday?

The trial begins Monday. Over the following two weeks, Delaware Chancery Court will hear from former CEOs of both Albertsons and Kroger as Albertsons pursues its claim for more than $9.3 billion tied to the collapsed $24.6 billion deal.

The outcome will determine whether Kroger pays.