Pension trustees warn Morrisons bidders of risk to retirement pots August 25, 2021 Private equity firms circling Morrisons have been warned buyouts would hinder its ability to support staff retirements by pension trustees. Trustees of pension assets worth £5.5bn said the proposed buyout would undermine the covenant protecting the retirement funds of members. Both Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Fortress should offer improved financial security to scheme members [...]
DEBATE: Are overseas private equity bids good news for the UK? August 24, 2021 Morrisons has accepted a £7bn bid from US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The fierce competition from US investors to buy the British supermarket giant has prompted concerns over what an injection of foreign money would mean for the high street stalwart. Ewan MacKinnon and Fraser Thorne take on the debate: Ewan MacKinnon, [...]
Supermarket sellout: After Morrisons, private equity firms are circling Sainsbury’s August 23, 2021 Private equity companies are circling British supermarket group Sainsbury’s with a view to possibly launching bids of more than £7bn. Watch the full report.
Sainsbury’s shares rocket: Investors eye supermarket’s property portfolio August 23, 2021 Sainsbury’s shares were up 15 per cent cent after reports that a private equity giant is poised to launch a bid topping £7bn. Shares in J Sainsbury rose by 15 per cent on Monday to 338.89p, after closing on 294.70p. Apollo Global Management is reportedly considering a bid for the supermarket after previously losing out [...]
Morrisons’ messy and dramatic takeover battle: Where are we now? August 20, 2021 Morrisons agreed a £7bn offer late last night in the latest twist in the UK supermarket chain’s dramatic takeover battle. Shares jumped this morning after investors digested the new deal from US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). It comes weeks after a rival bidder, a consortium led by private equity rival Fortress, [...]
Bidding war for Morrisons heats up as US private equity giant makes £7bn move August 20, 2021 A fresh £7bn bid for supermarket chain Morrisons has been put forward by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). The deal has been unanimously accepted by the board of the grocer and directors have said shareholders should vote in favour of the takeover at a meeting due in early October. It means [...]
Ocado sales dip as pre-pandemic habits return, supermarket data finds August 17, 2021 The UK’s return to normality has been accompanied by a return to pre-pandemic shopping habits, with online and overall grocery sales declining. The latest grocery market share figures from Kantar for the period ending 8 August show that grocery sales fell by four per cent. The latest twelve weeks saw the lowest level of online [...]
Amazon launches own-brand groceries on its UK website August 16, 2021 Amazon has added own-brand groceries to its UK website as it amps up competition with Britain’s supermarkets. Never one to miss out on a lucrative business opportunity, the company capitalised on lockdown restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic by expanding its online groceries service. Amazon Fresh expanded its next-day delivery service to customers across the UK [...]
Morrisons suitor CD&R gears up to beat Fortress bid August 16, 2021 New York bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is gearing up to place its counter-bid to the leading £10bn Fortress offer for Wm Morrison supermarkets before its deadline next Friday. CD&R planted the seed for the ongoing private equity bidding war for the British supermarket in June, when it placed a 230p per share offer [...]
Hostelworld revenue dives against restrictions but travellers begin to return August 11, 2021 Online travel agent Hostelworld has had its revenue plummet 76 per cent in the past six months, as the group was significantly bruised by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Net revenue fell from €12m in the first half of last year to just €2.9m this year. Total bookings have also sunk by 73 per cent from a [...]