WM Morrison takeover to be decided via auction
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets
286.40p
16:55 26/10/21
British supermarket chain WM Morrison's takeover will be decided via auction on 2 October.
Food & Drug Retailers
4,369.80
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE 100
8,060.61
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE 350
4,453.56
15:45 15/11/24
FTSE All-Share
4,411.85
15:45 15/11/24
Back in July, Oppidum Bidco, a newly formed company indirectly owned by funds managed or advised by affiliates of Fortress Investment, reached an agreement with Morrisons over the terms of a recommended all-cash offer that would value the retailer at approximately £6.3bn and later upped its offer roughly £400.0m.
Later on, Market Bidco, an entity formed by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and WM Morrison Supermarkets had reached a separate agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer, setting Morrisons shareholders up to receive 285.0p in cash per share - an increase of 13.0p per share, or £332.0m in total, over the Fortress bid.
In order to resolve the situation, the Takeover Panel has now confirmed that as part of an effort to provide "an orderly framework for the resolution of the situation", an auction procedure had been established, with all of the parties involved agreeing to the procedure.
As of 0905 BST, WM Morrison shares were up 1.30% at 295.80p.