U.K. Competition Authority Nixes Proposed Asda, Sainsbury’s Merger

LONDON – Britain’s competition authority has killed off the proposed merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda that would have created Britain’s largest grocer, with revenues of more than 50 billion pounds. The 25-page decision from the Competition and Markets Authority, published Thursday, comes a year after the two supermarket giants rocked markets with promises of creating a “dynamic new player” that would lower prices by 10 percent on frequently purchased products and offer better services to consumers. Following the announcement in April, 2018 shares in Sainsbury’s shot up nearly 20 percent to 3.23 pounds. On Thursday morning, in the wake of the CMA’s decision, shares in Sainsbury’s were down 4.7 percent to 2.16 pounds. “The Competition and Markets Authority has decided that the anticipated merger may, on the balance of probabilities, be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition in a number of markets in the U.K.,” the CMA wrote in its final report on the merger Thursday. “The CMA has decided to prohibit the merger in its entirety.” The body said the merger would have created the U.K.’s largest retailer of fuel by volume, due to the gas stations that are often adjacent to the larger supermarkets. It also flagged “extensive competition concerns,

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