The Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday that it is investigating US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s £7bn takeover of supermarket chain Morrisons.
The competition watchdog said it had served an initial enforcement order over the takeover. As a result, the two companies must continue to operate separately while the CMA carries out its investigation.
CD&R won an auction for Morrisons earlier this month. It offered 287p a share for the chain, versus a rival bid from Fortress, at 286p per share.
Morrisons chair Andrew Higginson said the final offer from CD&R represented “excellent value for shareholders while at the same time protecting the fundamental character of Morrisons for all stakeholders”.
“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,” he added.
