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UK: Sainsbury-Asda Merger Competition ruling expected this week

By  |  April 23, 2019

The UK’s antitrust regulator announced it will publish its final decision Thursday on J Sainsburys 7.3 billion (US$9.4 billion) plan to buy Walmart’s Asda, reported Bloomberg.

Sainsbury’s attempt to buy the grocer , which would create the biggest UK supermarket chain, looked close to collapsein February after the regulator said in a provisional report that even with substantial store sales, the deal would likely mean higher prices and worse choice for shoppers. Sainsbury shares plunged the most in a decade on the report.

Since then, Sainsbury has offered to sellbetween 125 and 150 stores to a rival as it seeks to overcome the regulator’s hostility. If approved, the transaction would give the merged company more purchasing power to compete with the German discounters Aldi and Lidl, as well as online upstarts.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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