Apollo Globe, a US investment firm, is considering moving for Morrisons. The news comes just days after the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket accepted a £6.3 billion (US$8.7 billion) takeover bid by a US investment group led by the owner of Majestic Wine.

Speculation of a bidding war is rising as Apollo Globe is now the third firm to show interest in Morrisons in recent months. 

Last month, the supermarket group turned down an offer worth £5.5 billion (US$7.6 billion) from a different firm, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, saying “it had significantly undervalued the business.”

Fortress the favorite?
On Saturday, the British supermarket accepted the £6.3 billion (US$8.7 billion) offer. The group led by the US private equity firm Fortress was still looking as the favored company to complete a takeover with its agreed 254p-a-share bid.

Known for its £95 million (US$131.5 million) purchase of Majestic Wine in 2019, Fortress Investment Group is working with a division of Koch Industries and the Canadian pension fund CPPIB on the deal, which comprises 252p-a-share in cash and 2p by way of a special dividend. Including debt, the offer is worth £9.5 billion (US$13.1 billion).

The Times has reported that the Fortress consortium is being tipped to see off other potential suitors for Morrisons after giving commitments to preserve the legacy of its founding family.

FoodIngredientsFirst has reached out to Morrisons, but the company maintained it is “not commenting beyond the statement on Saturday morning at this stage.”
According to the BBC, Apollo said it was “in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible offer for Morrisons.”

Morrisons has almost 500 shops in the UK and employs over 110,000 staff.

Shares in Morrisons have jumped more than 11 percent at the start of trading in London today, as traders anticipate a bidding war for the supermarket chain.

They opened sharply higher at 268p, up from 239.8p on Friday night, after Apollo revealed it was considering a possible bid.