Morrisons rejects "significantly undervalued" £5.5bn US takeover bid

A UK supermarket has announced that it has rejected a “significantly undervalued” multi-billion pound takeover bid.

Morrisons, which is the fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK, reported today that it had received a cash offer of £5.5bn from US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

The offer, which would have seen CD&R take control of Morrisons and its assets, was informal - the company has until 17 July to make a formal bid for the supermarket.

However, Morrisons said that the proposal “significantly undervalued” the company and its future prospects, and has announced its rejection of the deal.

It added that the proposal was subject to a number of pre-conditions, including the completion of due diligence and the arrangement of debt financing.

Morrisons commented: “The board of Morrisons evaluated the conditional proposal together with its financial adviser, Rothschild & Co, and unanimously concluded that the conditional proposal significantly undervalued Morrisons and its future prospects.

“Accordingly, the board rejected the conditional proposal.”