// Morrisons rejects “significantly undervalued” £5.5bn takeover proposal from CD&R
// CD&R has until July 17 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Morrisons
// The US firm has previously made investments in discount chain B&M
Morrisons has reportedly rejected a takeover bid from private equity firm CD&R, saying the £5.5 billion value “significantly undervalued” the supermarket chain.
CD&R has until July 17 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Morrisons.
Morrisons said it evaluated the conditional proposal together with its financial adviser Rothschild & Co, Sky News reported.
READ MORE: Morrisons customers threaten to shop at Tesco over loyalty card
Morrisons said the conditional cash offer of 230p per share valued it at just over £5.5 billion.
CD&R said there was “no certainty an offer will be made”.
The US firm has previously made investments in the discount shop chain B&M, from which it made more than £1 billion.
Earlier this month, more than two thirds of Morrisons shareholders voted against the grocer’s plan to hand bosses bumper payouts after removing the £290 million cost of dealing with Covid-19 before calculating bonuses.
The retailer said that 70.12 per cent of shareholder votes were cast against its remuneration report at its AGM in Bradford on June 10.
In its annual report, Morrisons said chief executive David Potts would receive the maximum £1.7 million bonus for the past year, despite profits plunging £165 million from £435 million in the previous year.
Morrisons’ sales in the 14 weeks to May 9 had grown 2.7 per cent on a like for like basis, excluding fuel, including a 113 per cent increase in online sales.
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