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The Co-operative Group has agreed the takeover of
Somerfield for ?1.565bn following months of
negotiations.
The deal will make the Co-operative Group the UK?s fifth
biggest grocery retailer, operating more than 3,000
stores with sales of about ?8bn. It will have an 8%
share of the UK grocery market.
The Co-operative Group emerged as the sole bidder for
Somerfield in April. The ?1.565bn price tag is well
below the ?2.5bn at which Somerfield?s owners, property
tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, Barclays Capital and Apax
Partners, are understood to have originally valued the
company.
Paul Mason, chief executive of Somerfield, said: ?Our
shared vision of providing a high quality and affordable
convenience offer to local communities means that
together we will be twice as strong and therefore twice
as able to deliver the local grocery shops British
customers demand.?
The completion of the deal, however, will not end
speculation surrounding many Somerfield stores. A large
number of retailers both large and small will be forming
a queue to snap any stores that the Co-operative Group
decides to or is forced to off-load.
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