Morrisons, the fourth-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, has accepted a £7 billion ($9.5 billion) takeover offer by U.S. private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), dropping an earlier bid by rival suitor Fortress Investment Group.
“The grocery sector in the U.K. is undergoing great change, and we believe Morrisons is well placed, with CD&R's support, to succeed in this environment,” said Terry Leahy, senior adviser to CD&R funds and former Tesco CEO.
The new offer is a noticeable increase from an earlier bid made by CD&R of £2.30 ($3.13) per share, which valued Morrisons at £5.5 billion ($7.5 billion). That bid was rejected for undervaluing the retailer and CD&R has now increased its offer to £2.85 ($3.89) per share.
Earlier this month, Fortress had also raised its bid from £2.54 ($3.46) to £2.70 ($3.69) per share, plus a special dividend of £0.02 ($0.03). That offer had valued the supermarket group
