The fact that Kroger and Albertsons raised the number of divestitures "is a pretty powerful signal" the companies realize their merger "presents significant antitrust issues," said John Kirkwood, an antitrust expert and former FTC official who teaches law at Seattle University. Last week a Denver District Court also rejected a motion by Kroger and Albertsons to dismiss the state's lawsuit. A contrary data point: Arizona, which hasn't filed a separate lawsuit, nonetheless saw the biggest increase in proposed stores to be divested, from 24 to 101.