Fortress says CMA has not raised issues about Morrisons deal

Private equity firm Fortress, which is leading the consortium looking to buy Morrisons, said on Friday that the Competition and Markets Authority has not raised any issues with its proposed £6.3bn acquisition of the supermarket chain.

It said in a statement that the CMA has "no further questions" in relation to the offer and "has not otherwise opened an inquiry, or indicated in writing that it is still investigating whether to open an inquiry".

Fortress - which owns Majestic Wine and is backed by Japan’s SoftBank - does not expect any delay in proceeding with the takeover, which is set to be voted on by shareholders next month.

Morrisons agreed earlier in July to a takeover offer from the consortium, which includes Canadian pension fund CPPIB and Koch Real Estate Investments. The deal was agreed just days after the supermarket chain rebuffed an initial £5.5bn approach private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

Some Morrisons shareholders have come out against the Fortress takeover. M&G said the bid "does not reflect the true value of the company", while the group's largest shareholder, Silchester, said it was not inclined to support the offer.

Schroders said on Thursday that it was still considering how it will vote on the deal in August, while JO Hambro has reportedly said the offer price is too low.