'The CMA's stance will be critical': Industry reaction to Sainsbury's 'game-changing' merger with Asda

Deal a 'master stroke'

Industry commentators are labelling Sainsbury's proposed merger with Asda a "game-changing" move within the UK retail space, but some have warned the extent to which regulators step in will be key.

On 30 April, the second and third largest UK supermarkets confirmed they would be combining to form one entity of 2,800 stores with 31% of the market share, more than market leader Tesco, which has 27.6%. 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. On the news, Sainsbury's shares jumped 20.6% to 325.4p after markets opened while Tesco fell 4% to 229.3p and WM Morrison declined 2.9% to 233.1p. Sainsbury's is currently up 17% at 315.6p while Tesco is down 0.25% at ...