Economics

Kroger Grocery Chain Buying Harris Teeter

Will pay $2.4 billion

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The nation's largest grocery store chain is getting even bigger.

Kroger Co. said Tuesday it is buying Harris Teeter Supermarkets in a $2.4 billion deal, which will increase by three the number of states it operates in to 34.

The deal will be the fourth-largest acquisition of a North American food retailer the past decade. It also would be Kroger's biggest takeover since 1998, when it bought Fred Meyer for more than $12 billion, according to financial media giant Bloomberg.