Morrisons private equity buyers, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) has agreed to sell a number of petrol stations to force through the £7 billion takeover of the Big 4 grocer.
The firm, which also owns forecourt operator Motor Fuel Group (MFG), took control over the supermarket giant in October last year.
According to an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), MFG owns 921 petrol stations compared to Morrisons 339, which could result in price hikes in 121 locations, where they operate across the UK.
READ MORE: Retail experts slam Morrisons’ profit warning claims
The regulator said the findings were particularly important with petrol prices near record highs and gave CD&R a week to propose a way to address its concerns.
However, CD&R has not revealed how many forecourt it has offered to sell, but the CMA said the deal “might be accepted” under the proposals.
The news comes as petrol and diesel prices have reached a record high.
According to the AA, both petrol and diesel were the most expensive they’ve ever been on Sunday 13 February, with the average price of petrol being 148.02p per litre.
CD&R won an auction for Morrisons in October, following a a lengthy process, in which it tipped US private equity rival Fortress by 1p per share.
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