The Morrisons takeover in the UK becomes more complicated

THE Morrisons takeover in the UK becomes more complicated as bids increase with a further £400 million (€460 million) on the table.

Apparent front runners Fortress upped the value of their takeover bid following rumbles of discontent by large shareholders and this was approved by Morrisons Board who recommended that it should be accepted.

However there was a  new twist to the tail as previous bidder US investment group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice asked  for the   deadline to submit a  new  bid  to be  extended  and  after   Morrisons  tacitly  expressed  their  agreement, the UK regulator  has extended the  deadline  until August  20

Morrisons had  delayed the planned  shareholder meeting whereby  a  vote  on  the Fortress  offer was  due and because of  this, the extension  could be granted  although if a new bid from a third party was presented then the extension would be cancelled.

There have been rumours of other interested parties lurking in the background plus the ongoing thought that the Amazon group which uses Morrisons for grocery deliveries in the UK might step in and make its own bid.

In the meantime, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has time to raise more funds from investors whilst Fortress may feel that it has gone to the limit with its latest offer.

Under UK takeover rules there is a possibility that the company could be put up for auction by the regulator although that would be likely to attract legal appeals from some of the larger shareholders who oppose the sale as they believe that the company has undervalued many of its assets.

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