British retail entrepreneur Philip Green has decided not to go ahead with a bid for UK supermarket chain Safeway.
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Green’s decision leaves the way clear for Yorkshire-based supermarket firm Wm Morrison, the only other party that was granted regulatory clearance to bid.
Green, who owns the Bhs department store chain, said he had decided not to proceed on the recommendation of his advisors. Analysts said Green had probably lost interest in buying Safeway when it emerged that competition authorities would probably block any attempts to sell off some of Safeway’s stores to other retailers, reported Reuters.
Competition regulators blocked potential bids from supermarket firms Tesco, J Sainsbury and Wal-Mart’s Asda, but cleared Wm Morrison on the condition it sells off 53 Safeway stores if its bid is successful.
Safeway, the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, said it was expecting an offer from Morrisons within the next few weeks.
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