The UK’s Competition Commission has reportedly confirmed that it has delivered its confidential 840-page report on the possible takeover bids for UK supermarket chain Safeway to the Department of Trade and Industry.
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This is the latest stage in the Safeway saga, which began back in January when Yorkshire-based Wm Morrison made a £2.9bn (US$4.6bn) bid for the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain.
Since then, supermarket firms Tesco, J Sainsbury and Wal-Mart’s Asda have all expressed interest in buying some or all of Safeway, as has retail entrepreneur Philip Green. All suitors except Philip Green were referred to the Competition Commission.
A final decision on the takeover bids for Safeway is not expected from the DTI until the end of September, reported the Financial Times.
Wm Morrison is seen as the most likely bidder to be cleared by the DTI, although analysts continue to speculate as to whether Asda stands a chance since it is believed to have made a last ditch proposal last week to split Safeway up between itself and Wm Morrison.
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