CD&R £7bn Morrisons takeover put on ice amid market volatility December 2, 2021 Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s takeover of British supermarket Morrisons has been postponed to next year, as lenders push back on the massive debt package that the US private equity firm is using to finance the buyout to wait out market volatility. In what represents the UK’s biggest buyout in more than a decade at a [...]
Activist fund Gatemore buys stake in DFS and warns of buyout vulnerability November 10, 2021 Gatemore Capital management has bought a stake in DFS and told its fund investors that the sofa chain is undervalued by public markets and thus ripe for a private equity bid. Adding to its roster of listed British retailers, which includes Moss Bros, French Connection and Superdry, the activist fund told investors last month that [...]
Morrisons shareholders give seal of approval to $10bn CD&R takeover deal October 19, 2021 Shareholders in Morrisons have voted to approve a £7bn ($9.7bn) takeover bid from US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, in the official end to a long and heated takeover battle. British supermarket Morrisons said the required majority of three quarters of its shareholders backed the deal at a hybrid in-person and virtual investor [...]
Morrisons hiring for 3,000 Christmas roles October 6, 2021 Supermarket Morrisons is recruiting 3,000 Christmas jobs. It said it anticipated a busier Christmas with families and friends finally able to meet up free of Covid restrictions. Roles range from warehouse and production staff to pickers and packers with full training provided and no prior experience necessary. The supermarket said 16-24 year olds receiving Universal [...]
Morrisons’ chairman calls Christmas supply concerns ‘slightly overblown’ October 4, 2021 Morrisons’ chairman has downplayed concerns over the supermarket supply chain this Christmas. Andy Higginson said he was “not worried” about the challenges arising from a shortage of goods drivers and reports forecasting empty shelves this autumn, the BBC reported. The supermarket boss said problems in the supply chain were “well publicised” and “slightly overblown”. “Supply [...]
Supermarkets bleed sales thanks to food shortages October 3, 2021 The country’s largest supermarkets have lost out on more than £2bn sales this year so far thanks to food shortages. Leading retailers – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – lost out on sales during the first nine months of the year, according to data shared with trade magazine The Grocer. The sector has been hit [...]
CD&R wins takeover battle for Morrisons at auction with £7bn bid October 3, 2021 US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has beaten the Fortress Investment consortium at auction for Morrisons with a bid of £7bn for the supermarket. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) bid 287 pence per share – 2 pence per share above their existing offer and just a penny above the 286 pence offered by [...]
Crunch time: Morrisons takeover battle to culminate in one-day auction this weekend September 29, 2021 A months-long multibillion pound takeover battle for Morrisons will culminate in a one-day auction on Saturday, the UK’s takeover watchdog has confirmed. The stock market’s Takeover Panel said it would run a bidding process of up to five rounds this weekend because neither of the private equity bidders Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and the Fortress [...]
Judge rules in favour of Morrisons workers in £100m fight for equal pay September 28, 2021 Thousands of Morrisons retail staff are making progress with their £100m fight for equal pay following a new ruling at an employment tribunal. The ruling, by judge Davies at Leeds Employment Tribunal, confirmed that Morrisons’ shop floor workers can compare their pay with the supermarket giant’s distribution centre workers. The mostly female staff, both current [...]
MPs speak out as Morrisons bidder plans to run grocer from Cayman Islands September 26, 2021 The private equity eyeing supermarket Morrisons has lined up an entity in the tax haven Grand Cayman to run the supermarket giant, bid documents have revealed. Cross-party MPs have urged Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) to assure it will pay UK corporate tax rates on Morrisons’ turnover, the Sunday Times reported. CD&R revealed full details [...]