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Private equity group Apollo is examining a potential bid for Wm Morrison, the UK supermarket chain that has already agreed a Acquisition of £ 9.5 billion led by Fortress, a rival investment group.
Apollo, who Lost last year, in a bidding battle for grocery chain Asda, it said in a statement Monday that it was “in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible bid” for the London-listed company.
The US private equity firm is the latest global investment group to surround Morrisons, which last month turned down an offer from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and over the weekend accepted the offer led by Fortress.
The appetite for private capital for Morrisons lies in an environment of greater interest purchasing groups for British companies, whose valuations have been depressed by Brexit and the coronavirus crisis.
Shares in the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain gained 11% to 266.5p. Early trading Monday, comfortably above the Fortress offer, with a figure of 252 p.
Apollo said he had not approached Morrison’s board, chaired by Andrew Higginson. “There is no certainty that any offer will be made, nor about the terms on which that offer could be made,” the New York-based group added.
Bradford, based in Bradford, said over the weekend that he had contracted £ 9.5 billion with Fortress, owned by SoftBank, along with Canadian pension fund CPPIB and a unit of Koch Industries.
The accepted deal included a special dividend of 2 shares per share and valued Morrisons ’net worth at £ 6.3 billion before the inclusion of £ 3.2 billion in net debt.
Bidders also made several public commitments about the future of Morrisons, which has its roots in an open market stall in 1899. They said they planned to keep the company’s headquarters in West Yorkshire, safeguard pensions and maintain an amount of £ 10 per hour minimum wage for staff.
The unsolicited offer from Clayton, Dubilier and Rice was submitted at 230 p.m.
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