Morrisons takeover cleared by regulator

MORRISONS has been given permission by the competition watchdog to complete its £7bn takeover after its new US owner agreed to sell dozens of petrol stations.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) won a lengthy auction to buy the Bradfordbased grocer last year.

The investment giant also owns Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the UK’S largest independent petrol station operator, which runs 921 forecourts across the country.

Meanwhile, Morrisons runs 339 petrol stations across England, Scotland and Wales.

In January, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the move as it raised concerns that the deal could lead to higher petrol prices for some customers.

But the CMA said it has now formally accepted an offer from CD&R to sell 87 of its Mfg-run forecourts in areas of concern in order to push the takeover through.

Last month, the regulator said it was considering the offer and was “minded to accept” the move.

It added that the proposal appeared “to be suitable to restore the loss of competition brought about by the deal across each of the 121 local areas in which the concerns were identified”.

The CMA said that, while the number of sites proposed for sale is lower than the number of areas previously highlighted, the sale of some petrol stations will address concerns in multiple areas.

Yesterday, the watchdog confirmed that CD&R will need to sell 87 sites to purchasers it has approved.

Last year, Asda buyers the Issa brothers and TDR Capital agreed to sell 27 petrol stations in order to secure their takeover of the supermarket chain following similar competition concerns by the CMA.