CMA could approve CD&R Morrisons takeover after undertakings

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Thursday that it could approve the takeover of Morrisons by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice after the US private equity firm offered to divest some of its petrol stations to address competition concerns.

The watchdog said "there are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered by CD&R, or a modified version of them, might be accepted by the CMA under the Enterprise Act 2002".

CD&R owns Motor Fuel Group (MFG), which operates 921 petrol stations in England, Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile, supermarket chain Morrisons runs 339 petrol stations.

Earlier this year, the CMA launched an investigation into CD&R’s £7bn acquisition of Morrisons and a couple of weeks ago, it said the deal could push up petrol prices.

It highlighted concerns about over 121 local areas where MFG and Morrisons both have forecourts, saying there would be "limited competition" from other players after the takeover.