Bid for Morrisons set to be decided by auction

Morrisons said on Wednesday that it is in talks with the Takeover Panel about launching an auction process for the supermarket chain after Fortress Investment Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice failed to declare their bids final.

Morrisons agreed last month to be bought by CD&R for £7bn. However, a consortium led by Softbank-owned Fortress could still outbid CD&R, having previously offered £6.7bn.

"On the basis that neither Fortress Bidco nor Market Bidco have declared their offers final, such that either offer may be further increased or otherwise revised, a competitive situation continues to exist," Morrisons said in a statement.

"The board of Morrisons has engaged with the Panel Executive together with Market Bidco and Fortress Bidco in order to begin discussions around an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation (the ‘Auction Procedure’)."

An auction date will be announced by the panel in due course, Morrisons said, but it will be held before 18 October as a shareholder meeting to decide which offer to proceed with had been scheduled for on or around that date.

Following completion of an auction process, Morrisons shareholders would then vote on an offer, depending on which one is recommended by the board.