Asda, Sainsbury may need to divest 300 shops to smooth merger past regulators - report
20 AUG 2018
British supermarkets Asda and J Sainsbury [LON:SBRY] may be forced to offload as many as 300 shops to get regulatory approval for their proposed GBP 12bn (USD 15bn) merger, The Times reported. An analysis conducted by the newspaper using techniques of the type used by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) indicated 300 or more locations that could be affected by local competition issues.
The natural acquirers of the stores would be rival supermarket chains Tesco [LON:TSCO] and Wm Morrison [LON:MRW] but they would only be willing and able to buy in around 150 of the locations, the item reported.
The CMA is thought likely to launch a formal investigation into the merger later this year, the report said.