The Sunday Telegraph reported that it had obtained details of the OFT’s unexpected view that the boundaries may need to be redrawn for assessing if any Safeway stores should be sold to Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury or Tesco.
The paper said supermarkets bidding for Safeway would have to dispose of many more stores than they had hoped if new advice from the OFT is accepted by the Competition Commission. The recommendations on the effects on local competition of a takeover by one of the big supermarket groups would severely test the economics of the bids. The paper added that OFT's conclusions may reinforce the widespread view that Philip Green is a racing certainty to buy Safeway.
In a separate interview with the paper Safeway’s CEO Carlos Criado-Perez said the group is finding it difficult to stay competitive during the uncertainty over the bid process.
He warned that it was increasingly difficult to secure competitive deals from suppliers. And with trading director Jack Sinclair, Criado-Perez had met many of Safeway suppliers to attempt to minimise the impact of the uncertainty.
The Office of Fair Trading’s decision to Morrisons bid for rival Safeway has cost the Yorkshire-based chain £29m through a lost ‘break fee’.
The Business said the money was payable by Safeway to Morrisons under the terms of the original bid, if Safeway was sold to another bidder. Safeway must now only pay if another offer becomes unconditional.
The Sunday Times reported that Philip Green may not make any move on Safeway for several weeks due to volatile markets and after the supermarket’s next trading statement in mid-April.
Green told the paper: "Given the war and the fragile state of world markets, we are going to pause for a bit and take a cold, hard look at the situation before doing anything."
The Observer said that Philip Green would not be allowed to break up and sell chunks of Safeway. Sources close to the Green-OFT talks said he did not have to identify or limit the number of stores he would sell if he wins control but would have to seek approval for any sales.
The paper said it is unlikely that every one of the 472-store portfolio will suit his business plan and that he would be prepared to sell up to 100 sites.
The paper said supermarkets bidding for Safeway would have to dispose of many more stores than they had hoped if new advice from the OFT is accepted by the Competition Commission. The recommendations on the effects on local competition of a takeover by one of the big supermarket groups would severely test the economics of the bids. The paper added that OFT's conclusions may reinforce the widespread view that Philip Green is a racing certainty to buy Safeway.
In a separate interview with the paper Safeway’s CEO Carlos Criado-Perez said the group is finding it difficult to stay competitive during the uncertainty over the bid process.
He warned that it was increasingly difficult to secure competitive deals from suppliers. And with trading director Jack Sinclair, Criado-Perez had met many of Safeway suppliers to attempt to minimise the impact of the uncertainty.
The Office of Fair Trading’s decision to Morrisons bid for rival Safeway has cost the Yorkshire-based chain £29m through a lost ‘break fee’.
The Business said the money was payable by Safeway to Morrisons under the terms of the original bid, if Safeway was sold to another bidder. Safeway must now only pay if another offer becomes unconditional.
The Sunday Times reported that Philip Green may not make any move on Safeway for several weeks due to volatile markets and after the supermarket’s next trading statement in mid-April.
Green told the paper: "Given the war and the fragile state of world markets, we are going to pause for a bit and take a cold, hard look at the situation before doing anything."
The Observer said that Philip Green would not be allowed to break up and sell chunks of Safeway. Sources close to the Green-OFT talks said he did not have to identify or limit the number of stores he would sell if he wins control but would have to seek approval for any sales.
The paper said it is unlikely that every one of the 472-store portfolio will suit his business plan and that he would be prepared to sell up to 100 sites.
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