{"id":120179,"date":"2021-08-20T13:01:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T13:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=120179"},"modified":"2021-08-20T13:01:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T13:01:54","slug":"fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover\/","title":{"rendered":"Fortress mulls options after Morrisons agrees rival CD&R takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in Morrisons jumped above the level of an agreed takeover offer from U.S. private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) on Friday, indicating a protracted bid battle for the British supermarket group may yet have further to run.<\/p>

A view of a Morrisons supermarket in Birtley, Britain August 16 2021. REUTERS\/Lee Smith<\/figcaption>

The UK\u2019s fourth-largest grocer is the subject of the most high-profile deal amid a raft of bids and counter bids playing out in Britain, reflecting private equity\u2019s appetite for UK Plc.<\/p>\n

The latest twist in the saga came late Thursday when Bradford, northern England, based Morrisons said its board would unanimously recommend CD&R\u2019s 285 pence a share offer worth 7 billion pounds ($9.5 billion) and drop its previous recommendation for a 6.7 billion pound bid from a consortium led by SoftBank owned Fortress Investment Group.<\/p>\n

The latest offer represents a 60% premium to Morrisons\u2019 share price before takeover interest emerged in mid-June.<\/p>\n

However, shares in Morrisons, which lags Tesco, Sainsbury\u2019s and Asda in UK market share, were up 4.3% at 291.2p by 1128 GMT on hopes Fortress will return with an even higher bid before shareholders vote on CD&R\u2019s offer at meetings expected around the week of Oct. 4.<\/p>\n

Major Morrisons investors Silchester, M&G, JO Hambro and Schroders declined to comment on their intentions.<\/p>\n

Having previously said it is \u201ccommitted to becoming the new owner of Morrisons\u201d, Fortress has now said it is considering its options and urged shareholders to take no action, pending a further statement.<\/p>\n

If Fortress remains keen it is also possible the Takeover Panel, which governs deals in the UK, could instigate an auction process.<\/p>\n

Analysts said the Fortress consortium, which also includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Koch Real Estate Investments and Singapore\u2019s sovereign wealth fund GIC, certainly has the firepower to go higher.<\/p>\n

The question remains however whether it can make a return on its investment at a higher level without needing significant asset sales.<\/p>\n

Morrisons, which has more than 110,000 staff and a largely freehold store estate, is unique among British supermarkets in making half of the fresh food it sells. It owns meat and fish processing sites and even its own trawler.<\/p>\n

Analysts have speculated that Amazon, which has a partnership deal with Morrisons, could also still enter the fray, though most believe it would have done so by now if interested.<\/p>\n

TESCO FRIENDS REUNITED<\/h2>\n

CD&R has former Tesco boss Terry Leahy as a senior adviser and a takeover of Morrisons would reunite him with its Chairman Andrew Higginson, Chief Executive David Potts and Chief Operating Officer Trevor Strain, who all worked with him at Britain\u2019s biggest retailer.<\/p>\n

Potts would make 10.3 million pounds by selling his shares to CD&R, while Strain would pocket 4.1 million pounds.<\/p>\n

In line with the assurances Fortress had given, CD&R has committed to retain Morrisons\u2019 existing management and execute its strategy. It does not plan material store sale and leaseback transactions.<\/p>\n

One change that is expected is CD&R could combine its 918 Motor Fuel Group (MFG) fuel forecourts with the 339 owned by Morrisons, opening Morrisons convenience stores on the sites.<\/p>\n

That could face scrutiny from the competition regulator.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, when rival Asda was sold to TDR Capital and the Issa brothers in a 6.8 billion pound deal, the regulator insisted on petrol forecourt disposals.<\/p>\n

($1 = 0.7337 pounds)<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in Morrisons jumped above the level of an agreed takeover offer from U.S. private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFortress mulls options after Morrisons agrees rival CD&R takeover - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fortress mulls options after Morrisons agrees rival CD&R takeover - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in Morrisons jumped above the level of an agreed takeover offer from U.S. private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) on [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-20T13:01:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Fortress-mulls-options-after-Morrisons-agrees-rival-CDR-takeover.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/fortress-mulls-options-after-morrisons-agrees-rival-cdr-takeover\/\",\"name\":\"Fortress mulls options after Morrisons agrees rival CD&R takeover - 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