{"id":138114,"date":"2021-09-08T11:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T11:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=138114"},"modified":"2021-09-08T11:53:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T11:53:00","slug":"10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction\/","title":{"rendered":"$10 billion U.S. battle for Britain's Morrisons heads for auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (Reuters) -The $10 billion takeover battle for British supermarket group Morrisons between two U.S. private equity groups looks set to be decided by a rarely used auction process.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past a branch of the food retailer Morrisons in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS\/Toby Melville<\/figcaption>

Morrisons said on Wednesday it was in talks with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), Fortress Investment Group and Britain\u2019s takeover regulator about an auction to settle its future.<\/p>\n

Last month, Morrisons agreed a 7 billion pound ($9.6 billion) offer from CD&R, which has former Tesco boss Terry Leahy as a senior adviser. However, the rival consortium led by Softbank-owned Fortress could still trump that bid.<\/p>\n

The fight for Britain\u2019s fourth-largest grocer after Tesco, Sainsbury\u2019s and Asda, is the most high-profile looming takeover amid a raft of bids and counter bids, reflecting private equity\u2019s appetite for UK Plc.<\/p>\n

Morrisons said that as neither bidder had declared its offer final, it was talking to both of them and the Takeover Panel, which governs M&A deals in the UK, about \u201can orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation\u201d – which would typically be an auction.<\/p>\n

Morrisons said shareholder meetings to vote on the CD&R offer would be convened for around the week starting Oct. 18.<\/p>\n

It said any auction would take place prior to these shareholder meetings, on a date announced by the Takeover Panel.<\/p>\n

Following completion of an auction, Morrisons shareholders would vote on either a Fortress or a CD&R offer, depending on which offer Morrisons\u2019 board recommended.<\/p>\n

Morrisons said it expected a scheme document on CD&R\u2019s offer to be posted to shareholders around Sept. 25.<\/p>\n

CD&R\u2019s latest offer is worth 285 pence per Morrisons share – a 60% premium to Morrisons\u2019 share price before takeover interest emerged in mid-June.<\/p>\n

Fortress, whose last offer was pitched at 272 pence a share, said on Wednesday it \u201ccontinues to consider its options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrisons shares were trading at 291.3 pence at 1044 GMT, indicating investors are hoping for a higher bid.<\/p>\n

CD&R had no further comment.<\/p>\n

AUCTION PROCESS<\/h2>\n

The Takeover Panel\u2019s standard auction structure is bidding over a five-day period. However, if all parties are in agreement a different structure can be used – for example bidding over just one day.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Takeover Panel set up an auction of British inhaler company Vectura for suitors Philip Morris International <\/span>PM.N<\/span> and U.S. private equity firm Carlyle. However, in the event Carlyle decided not to raise its offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Morrisons, which trades from 497 stores and has a staff of over 110,000, reiterated on Wednesday that in addition to the financial terms of any offer it places \u201cvery significant emphasis on the wider responsibilities of ownership\u201d, including the importance of employees, customers, pension trustees and suppliers.<\/p>\n

Last month, the trustees of Morrisons\u2019 pension schemes warned a takeover by either CD&R or Fortress could \u201cmaterially weaken\u201d the security of the schemes if no additional protection was agreed.<\/p>\n

Morrisons is due to publish first half results on Thursday.<\/p>\n

($1 = 0.7266 pounds)<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON (Reuters) -The $10 billion takeover battle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":138113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23054],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n$10 billion U.S. battle for Britain's Morrisons heads for auction - Pre Coin News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$10 billion U.S. battle for Britain's Morrisons heads for auction - Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LONDON (Reuters) -The $10 billion takeover battle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pre Coin News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-08T11:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/10-billion-U.S.-battle-for-Britains-Morrisons-heads-for-auction.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/10-billion-u-s-battle-for-britains-morrisons-heads-for-auction\/\",\"name\":\"$10 billion U.S. battle for Britain's Morrisons heads for auction - 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