The UK’s competition watchdog is to examine the £7bn takeover of Morrisons by a US private equity firm that owns a string of petrol forecourts.
The Competition and Markets Authority said Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which completed its takeover of the supermarket chain last week, should ensure that Morrisons’ operations remained separate from the finance firm’s Motor Fuel Group until the potential effect on consumers from a tie-up had been considered.
The watchdog has up to four months to decide whether to launch a full inquiry into whether consumers can be harmed by CD&R taking control of more than 1,200 of the UK’s 8,000 petrol stations.
A full investigation could take more than six months to complete.
Motor Fuel Group, which CD&R acquired in
Read more on theguardian.com