WHOLESALER FINDINGS
Sainsbury’s suspends Nisa takeover talks over competition concerns
London — Britain’s second largest supermarket group Sainsbury’s has suspended bid talks with wholesaler Nisa until it has a clear idea of whether the competition regulator will approve takeovers in the fast-growing convenience sector. Sainsbury’s, which came under fire from shareholders in July over three years of falling profit and the prospect of a fourth in its current year, wants to wait until the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) publishes provisional findings of its probe of Tesco’s proposed £3.7bn takeover of Booker. "Sainsbury’s has decided to pause discussions with Nisa until it better understands how the CMA would review any deal," a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The CMA’s report into the takeover of Britain’s largest grocery wholesaler is due to be published at the end of October. Although Sainsbury’s has put its talks with Nisa on hold, the wholesaler’s chairman Peter Hartley told its shopkeeper members on Monday that a deal with the supermar...
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