Sainsbury's shares leap 20% as supermarket confirms merger with Asda

Merger revealed on 28 April

Sainsbury's share price has soared over 20% in morning trading after it confirmed it has agreed terms with Walmart to merge with subsidiary Asda, a move which will be significant for BlackRock and Invesco who are two of Sainsbury's top five investors.

  The move will combine the second and third largest supermarkets in the UK bringing together a total of 2,800 stores and representing 31% of the market, more than market leader Tesco. The deal, which was revealed on 28 April, will see Sainsbury's pay £3bn to Asda parent Walmart and 42% of the combined shares, valuing Asda at approximately £7.3bn. David Tyler, chairman of Sainsbury's, said: "We believe that the combination of Sainsbury's and Asda will create substantial value for our shareholders and will be excellent news for our customers and our colleagues. "As one of the lar...