The merger of J Sainsbury and Asda is on the verge of collapse after the competition regulator raised extensive concerns.
The provisional findings of an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into the combination of Britain’s second and third biggest supermarkets found that it could lead to higher prices, a poorer shopping experience and reductions in the range and quality of products.
Officials, who are due to issue their final report by the end of April, suggested that they could either block the £12 billion deal entirely or force the two chains to offload hundreds of shops, potentially including either the Sainsbury’s or Asda brands, to a single buyer. Industry experts and analysts said the findings were more severe than expected and had effectively blocked the deal.
Sainsbury’s shares tumbled by more than 18pc after the Competition and Markets Authority said it had “extensive” concerns about the deal.
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