Jonathan Branton, Head of EU and Competition at DWF:
“The CMA has taken a clearly tough stance in its approach to the proposed merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda. It has raised a significant number of difficult questions at both national and local (individual store) levels and given the national issues in particular, this raises doubts as to whether Sainsbury’s and Asda would be able (or willing) to give the solutions the CMA appears to need before it would to give an approval. The significant concerns the CMA has published today therefore do not bode well for an ultimate approval of the deal.”
