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UK: Sainsbury struggles to keep Asda deal on track

By  |  January 14, 2019

According to a report from the Financial Times, Sainsbury’s is facing a tougher battle than it had expected to get regulatory approval for its proposed takeover of Asda without onerous conditions, analysts and advisers have said, with an extension to a competition investigation now regarded as likely.

A deal to combine the UK’s second- and third-biggest supermarkets was announced last April, and speculation about the regulatory probe into the deal mounted after the two parties used a judicial review before Christmas to secure more time to respond to inquiries from the Competition and Markets Authority.

Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe has previously told the Financial Times that the two companies would consider the deal unviable if more than a certain amount of profit were lost because of store disposals. Last week, he told reporters that Sainsbury’s “remains as confident in its case now as it was at the start.”

Full Content: Financial Times

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