Asda and Morrisons Bid for Iceland

by Laura Elliott - 21/10/2011

"Asda and Morrisons, two of the ‘big four’ supermarket competitors in the UK, are thought to have joined a number of private equity bidders in an auction for the smaller retailer Iceland."

The much-anticipated auction began on Wednesday this week – the final deadline for the first round of the bidding war. The Financial Times reported that the first offers have valued the company at between £1.3bn and £1.5bn.

Iceland’s founder and Chief Executive Malcolm Walker, who continues to hold a 23% stake in the company, has not put forward a bit at this stage yet. However, he has the right to match any bid for the company and is not required to make an appearance at this stage of the proceedings.

If the early bids by Asda and Morrisons are successful, both retailers would need to sell off an estimated 20% of the chain’s stores in order to meet the requirements set by the competition regulators. Both retail giants are believed to have an interest in batches of Iceland stores, rather than ownership of the entire chain.

More Details: http://www.internationalsupermarketnews.com/news/5326