- In the UK, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reportedly asked retailing mogul Philip Green to make a formal application that would have to be scrutinized by competition authorities before he can actually submit a bid to acquire Safeway Plc.
Green had hoped to put his bid in shortly and, because he doesn’t own any food stores, avoid the competition scrutiny that companies such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Wal-Mart and Wm. Morrison will have to face.
The speculation is that if Green is subject to such examination, the same criteria will be applied to companies like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, the U.S. corporate buyout specialist.
- Value-driven, no-frills grocer Aldi plans to open a fourth store in Wichita, saying that it is “behind” in its expansion plans in the Kansas city. Two more units are planned for the next couple of years.
