It is backed by the £281.7bn buying power of Walmart - the world’s biggest retailer - but Asda has claimed Booker’s acquisition of Makro will hurt its business.

The Competition Commission, which is currently investigating the £140m merger, held hearings with 14 third parties about the deal and released a summary of its findings last week.

At the Asda hearing, the £19.8bn turnover supermarket chain said it “would be negatively impacted by the merger if Booker was able to lower its prices”.

Although it operates a Trade Card and Asda Business website boasting ‘great value bulk wholesale products at Asda prices’, it claimed the website was “no more than a branding tool. It did not have “operational processes, assets or dedicated staff devoted to entering the wholesale market”, it added.

Asda admitted that while it considered itself in indirect competition with wholesalers, it did not monitor the prices of Booker, Makro or any other wholesaler.

Asda was largely alone in its opposition. Only JJ Food Service took a similar line, arguing that an enlarged Booker would impact its business “because the merger was taking place to allow Booker to become a major player in the UK wholesale market”. However, closer competitors, including Brakes and Costco, believed the deal would not affect them.

Costco’s hearing also revealed that it had “had discussions over the possibility of purchasing Makro over some years”.

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