UK: Shareholders back £3.7b Tesco and Booker merger

This week, shareholders decided to back Tesco’s takeover of Booker, Britain’s largest wholesaler. Investors in both companies met on Wednesday, February 28, to have their say on the deal, which was valued at £3.7 billion (US$5.1 billion) when it was agreed in January 2017 but was worth £3.95 billion (US$5.4 billion) by the close of trading on Tuesday.

Now that it has support from shareholders, the takeover is expected to complete on 5 March. The threshold was higher at Booker at 75%.

“It’s been carried fairly comfortably”, Tesco Chairman John Allan said at the retailer’s meeting in central London, attended by just 65 Tesco shareholders.

The news comes just a few weeks after advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services warned Booker investors against the deal, saying they would have “limited potential benefit” and that the transaction “does not warrant support at the current terms,” reported Yahoo News.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it was clear the two firms did not currently compete head-to-head in most of their activities—such as supplying the catering sector, which accounts for 30% of Booker’s business.

Full Content: Yahoo News

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