Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt today announced that she had accepted undertakings from Asda Group Limited, Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, J Sainsbury plc and Tesco plc in relation to their proposed acquisitions of Safeway plc.
Ms Hewitt said: "The Office of Fair Trading has advised me that they have obtained the undertakings which I have asked them to seek from Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco. I believe they satisfactorily address the concerns identified by the Competition Commission in its report, and have therefore decided to accept the undertakings offered." The acceptance of these undertakings means that Morrisons are now free to make an offer for Safeway, should they choose to. Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco are now in a position to bid for some of the stores Morrisons have undertaken to divest as a condition of buying Safeway, and to seek consent from the Office of Fair Trading to acquire any other collection of Safeway assets.
The event will be part conference and part discussion forum, with participants from the food chain, consumer groups, trade bodies, environmentalists, the media and the health profession.
The supermarket giant Asda is to place fresh fruit instead of confectionery at checkouts to help parents resist the demands of children and help tackle Britain's obesity crisis.
You and I can save money by shopping at Wal-Mart. We also can save money by stealing. The question becomes, Is money the most important thing in our lives, or do we have higher values?"
