Morrisons owner offers to sell 87 petrol stations to clear £7bn takeover
The new owner of Morrisons has offered to sell 87 petrol station forecourts in an effort to gain the competition watchdog’s approval for its £7bn takeover of the UK’s fourth largest supermarket.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was “minded to accept” the plan by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a US private equity firm that owns a string of petrol forecourts, but will consult on it before making a final ruling.
The potential deal comes after a CMA inquiry found the takeover could lead to a loss of competition, and potentially higher petrol prices for drivers, in 121 areas.
CD&R owns the Motor Fuel Group, the largest independent operator of petrol stations in the United Kingdom with 921 sites, while Morrisons operates 339 across England, Scotland and Wales.
While the number of petrol stations CD&R is proposing to sell, all of which are Motor Fuel Group sites, is lower than the number of areas in where concerns were identified, the CMA said the sale of some forecourts would affected multiple areas.
Colin Raftery, the senior director of mergers at the watchdog, said: “The sale of these petrol stations will preserve competition and prevent motorists from losing out due to this deal, which is particularly important when prices have recently hit record highs.
“If we conclude that the competition issues have been addressed following a consultation on CD&R’s offer, the deal will be cleared.”
An agreement would stave off the a full investigation by the CMA which could take more than six months to complete, holding up CD&R’s plans for Morrisons.
The private equity firm has said that putting Morrisons stores on to Motor Fuel Group forecourts could be an important way to expand the reach of the Bradford-based supermarket.
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