UK: CD&R to acquire Morrisons for £7bn

The US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has won an auction to acquire Morrison supermarket chain with an offer of £7billion outbidding Fortress Investment Group.

CD&R gained the auction with a bit of 287p in cash for each Morrison share, beating the 286p offer made by Fortress Investment Group.

Morrisons is a supermarket chain with a workforce of about 120,000 staff in the UK, including across its 497 supermarkets, as well as factories, farms, and a company-owned fishing trawler.

Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson said: “CD&R have good retail experience, a strong record of developing and growing the businesses in which they invest, and they share our vision and ambition for Morrisons. We remain confident that CD&R will be a responsible, thoughtful and careful owner of an important British grocery business”.

Morrisons’ shareholders will vote on the final offer on 19 October.

Source: Insider Media Limited