The battle over supermarket chain Morrisons will be decided next month in a head-to-head auction between its two suitors.
Morrisons said that it had approached the Takeover Panel about agreeing a sale that would bring the battle between Clayton Dubilier & Rice and a consortium led by Fortress to a close.
The use of auctions is rare, but is being seen as the only option as neither bidder has declared their offer “final”.
CDR is currently in pole position for the supermarket chain, with a 285p-per-share offer valued at £7bn.
Morrisons, which is due to report its half-year results today, has been the subject of takeover bidding since early May and is currently trading at 292p.
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