UK competition regulator probes $10 billion Morrisons deal

Supermarkets

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stepped up its examination of Big 4 grocer Morrisons and whether the buyout by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) will result in higher fuel prices on forecourts across the UK.

The CMA announced yesterday (Thursday 27 January) that it has formally opened an investigation into whether Morrison’s recent takeover by U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Holdings (CD&R) will reduce choice for supermarket customers across the UK.

Read more: Morrisons exits stock market ahead of £7bn takeover

Currently CD&R owns around 900 UK petrol stations as part of its Motor Fuel company whilst Morrisons has around 335.

However, fears arise of reducing competition and money matters as the merger will result in the group controlling over than 1,200 of the country’s 8,000 petrol stations

In statement, the CMA said it will examine whether the deal will “result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”

The market watchdog has given a deadline of 25 March for a preliminary decision on the acquisition and is inviting comments from interested parties.

Morrisons was sold to a consortium led by the American firm CD&R for £7bn ($9.43bn) in October last year. Former Tesco boss Terry Leahy is a senior adviser at the buyout business.

The U.K. regulator will look at whether the transaction constitutes a lessening of competition within the country, it said.

Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter

Supermarkets

RELATED POSTS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

Menu

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Sign up to our daily newsletter to get all the latest grocery news and insights direct to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.