Morrisons ready with Safeway bid
13 April 2012
MORRISONS is expected to announce its long-awaited bid for Safeway with an offer only slightly above the £2.9bn it agreed last January. Sir Ken Morrison, chairman of the Bradford-based supermarket chain, is understood to be poised to outline the £3bn bid for Safeway's 480 stores on Tuesday.
The offer will be made in defiance of a last-minute attempt by rival Wal-Mart Asda to derail the bid. The US-owned chain is thought to have offered £2 billion for 70 Safeway stores.
Sir Ken is believed to have concluded that after the lengthy Competition Commission investigations into rival bids, Asda's approach was unlikely to be approved.
