Morrisons takeover deal facing petrol forecourt probe

Regulators could call in proposed £7bn takeover of Morrisons by private equity giant over concerns about number of petrol stations group would own

  • Officials at the Competition and Markets Authority are tracking the bumper deal closely 
  • Clayton, Dubilier and Rice – which is being advised by former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy – agreed a 285p-per-share offer with the Morrisons board 
  •  CD&R already owns Motor Fuel Group – the UK’s largest petrol station retailer
  • It has 900 stations – more than Shell, Euro Garages and BP – Morrisons has around 335, giving combined control of more than 1,200 forecourts 


Regulators could call in the proposed £7billion takeover of Morrisons by US private equity giant Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) over concerns about the number of petrol stations the group would own. 

Officials at the Competition and Markets Authority are tracking the bumper deal closely, City sources said, and are on alert to potentially launch an investigation. 

The news comes as Sainsbury’s is tipped to become the latest firm to fall prey to private equity predators. 

Fuelling concern: Morrisons bidder Clayton, Dubilier and Rice owns Motor Fuel Group – the UK's largest petrol station retailer

Fuelling concern: Morrisons bidder Clayton, Dubilier and Rice owns Motor Fuel Group – the UK’s largest petrol station retailer

The UK’s second-largest supermarket is being sized up by groups including America’s Apollo, according to reports. 

CD&R – which is being advised by former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy – agreed a 285p-per-share offer with the Morrisons board last week. Debate over the takeover has revolved around the price of the bid and company culture. 

CD&R outbid a rival consortium, led by Softbank-owned Fortress, which is expected to put forward an even higher offer in the coming weeks. 

Morrisons’ share price is trading above 285p – indicating that traders also believe another is on the way. 

But if CD&R is successful, regulators will be keen to assess whether the tie-up will spell bad news for UK drivers. 

CD&R owns Motor Fuel Group – the UK’s largest petrol station retailer. It bought Motor Fuel Group for £500m in 2015 and has 900 stations – more than Shell, Euro Garages and BP. Morrisons has around 335, giving combined control of more than 1,200 forecourts. There are more than 8,000 petrol stations either operating or in development. 

A source close to the situation said: ‘The question is will CD&R amalgamate the Morrisons forecourts with Motor Fuel Group. If they do then the CMA is likely to step in. 

‘If they keep them separate then there is a case for giving CD&R the green light.’ 

Similar concerns were raised when the Issa brothers bought Asda for £6.8billion. The Issas own EG Group, which has almost 400 petrol stations while Asda has 323. In June, regulators forced them to sell 27 petrol stations to get the deal across the line. 

Another source said there were ‘likely to be some overlaps and potential disposals’ but that these were expected to be ‘small’ in the overall scheme of the deal.

source: dailymail.co.uk