The Office of Fair Trading is reportedly hoping to refer its findings on all five potential bids for UK supermarket chain Safeway to UK Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt this week.
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The OFT plans to present its conclusions regarding which bidders should be referred to the Competition Commission, reported Dow Jones Business News, citing a source close to the OFT.
The OFT is hoping to put the Trade Secretary in a position where she can announce on all decisions at the same time, at some point next week, the source said.
UK supermarket companies William Morrison, J Sainsbury, Tesco and Wal-Mart’s Asda are among the potential bidders, together with entrepreneur Philip Green.
An OFT spokesman refused to comment on exact timings. He said there is a “theoretical possibility” that findings on all five parties could be sent to the Hewitt’s Department of Trade and Industry at the same time, but that it was not inevitable.
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