Morrisons takeover by CD&R given green light by shareholders
The £7 billion takeover of Morrisons by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has been given the green light by the supermarket’s shareholders.
In statement yesterday, Morrisons confirmed that 99.2% of the investor vote was in favour of the move.
Earlier this month, the stock market’s Takeover Panel said CD&R’s winning bid of 287 pence per ordinary share beat the bid of 286 pence per ordinary share offered in an auction by a Fortress led consortium.
In yesterday’s statement, Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson said: “We thank shareholders for the strong support received at today’s meetings. We remain confident that CD&R will be a responsible, thoughtful and careful owner of Morrisons and we will now move forward with the remaining steps in the acquisition process.”
The winning bid was spearheaded by former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, who is senior adviser to CD&R funds. He said: “The particular heritage, culture and operating model of Morrisons are key features of the company and we will be very mindful of these during our tenure as owners. We very much look forward to working with the Morrisons team, not just to preserve the company’s many strengths – but to build on these, with innovation, capital and new technology – helping the business realise its full potential and delivering for all of its stakeholders.”
The takeover is expected to complete on 27 October.
