This very brief post provides a small update on a continuing story that has been covered throughout here in Financial Regulation Matters . Tesco has been in the news a lot recently, whether that be on account of aiming to move into the ‘discount supermarket’ marketplace , or on account of a massive amount of job losses as the company goes through a restructuring process, both on the shop floor and across management . However, our focus today will be on providing an update to the ongoing attempted takeover of the wholesale firm Booker. The proposed takeover of Bookers has been a protracted one, and although the deal has been given the go-ahead, slightly controversially, from competition regulators , there are still a number of hurdles to clear before the deal can be completed. Whilst the approval from the competition regulator was a major hurdle, getting everybody on side is perhaps the largest hurdle and, in that sense, the deal still has some way to go before it can cross the...

In today’s post, the focus will be on a few potential M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) deals that the British competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is currently dealing with. Whilst also serving as a review of the recent business news in this field, this post will seek to analyse the complex nature of the CMA’s task and all of the aspects that it must consider; the effect of their decision in a given case will, by its very definition, go on to have massive consequences for those businesses involved and, more importantly, the public which is exposed to the effects of these potential deals. What we will see is that, in a number of cases, the balance which is aimed for will weigh heavier on any given side, but finding a solution to this is almost impossible, if even desirable. First up for us is Tesco and its proposed deal to take over the wholesale company Booker, which is something we have analysed before here in Financial Regulation Matters . The...

In the second post today, the focus will be on the news recently that two major shareholders in Tesco, the massive retail company that engages in multiple avenues of business, have sought to publicly express their opposition to the company’s plans to purchase Booker , a wholesale grocery firm, for a reported £3.7 billion. Whilst there are more elements to this story which need to be discussed, the sentiment that is emanating from this news, that shareholders are taking the long-term into account and not succumbing to the destructive narrative of growth at any cost is the most important way forward, is a very welcome sentiment indeed. Therefore, this post will assess these details, and also the importance of this sentiment being repeated in other arenas. The attempted merger with Booker, which was originally made public in January, was billed as a move which would bring benefits to customers, retailers, and ultimately deliver ‘ significant shareholder value ’. However, the deal...