Morrison (wm) Supermarkets Share Discussion Threads

[maxk] 25/9/2021 23:51

Morrisons bidder plans to control supermarket from Cayman Islands Private equity firm lines up entity in Caribbean tax haven to exercise control over Britain’s fourth-largest grocer By Simon Foy and Laura Onita 25 September 2021 • 8:00pm The US buyout firm leading the £10bn race for Morrisons plans to control the supermarket via a company registered in the Cayman Islands, threatening to stoke a row about tax avoidance as big listed companies are snapped up by private investors. A trail of ownership ending in Grand Cayman was revealed after Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) unveiled full details of its recommended bid before a vote by Morrisons shareholders. An entity called Market21 GP Holdings has been lined up in the Caribbean tax haven to exercise control over Britain’s fourth-largest grocer. The documents also reveal that bankers, lawyers and public relations advisers are due to receive fees of more than £400m if the bid succeeds. Although CD&R’s offer has been recommended by the Morrisons board it is still at risk of challenge by rival buyout firm Fortress. Neither firm has declared their current bid final and preparations are being made for a dramatic head to head auction that could end in blind bids next month. CD&R’s bid values Morrisons at £9.7bn including debt. The decision to run the supermarket via an offshore entity comes as Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is set to hike Britain’s corporate tax rate to 25pc from April 2023. Morrisons paid £47m in UK corporation tax in its latest financial year, down from £60m in 2020. Kevin Hollinrake, a Conservative MP, said he will be writing to Sir Terry Leahy, the former Tesco boss who is spearheading CD&R’s bid, seeking assurances that the firm will pay UK corporate tax rates on Morrisons’ turnover. He said: “We should expect CD&R to set out very clearly that they’re going to pay UK rates of corporation tax.” CD&R defended its planned corporate structure, with a spokesman saying that should the private equity firm assume ownership of Morrisons, it will “remain registered in the UK, headquartered in the UK and continue to pay taxes in the UK”. More lies here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/09/25/morrisons-bidder-plans-control-supermarket-cayman-islands/

[typo56] 17/9/2021 20:07

Large uncrossing trade was due to FTSE promotion, effective Monday.

[hades1] 17/9/2021 19:10

Triple witching options expiry day.Options rolled or closed.High volume in many many shares tonight.

[nerdlinger] 17/9/2021 17:53

Unusually large closing trade, nearly 2% of issued shares. Next bid imminent?

[pjleeds] 11/9/2021 15:39

BIG mistake cutting sick pay for unvaccinated staff, looks like the management are sucking up to new owners, whoever they may be.

[jlondon] 10/9/2021 21:38

"Morrisons MARKET KITCHEN takeaway launched in Leeds with chefs cooking pizza, pasta, wraps, curries and more in store."-LeedsLive, 9 hrs ago, Fri, 10 Sep 2021 hxxps://www.leeds-live.co.uk/best-in-leeds/shopping/morrisons-market-kitchen-takeaway-launched-21532761 "Customers can choose from different dishes including pizza,pasta, roast chicken, curries & steak." Can also be delivered to the home by Deliveroo. This is the 6th Market Kitchen opened. My comment: From the accounts, the covid affected the cafes. However, with this new market kitchen, its is taking on a new sector. The format looks attractive from the pics.

[johnwise] 10/9/2021 19:43

Supermarket shortages may last 'FOREVER': Food and Drink Federation chief gives stark warning that the days of shoppers getting anything they want are 'over' - as farmer says crisis is 'killing small business' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9977325/Supermarket-shortages-FOREVER-says-food-drink-federation-chief.html

[albert3591] 10/9/2021 14:27

That is anyone below team leader ranking

[albert3591] 10/9/2021 14:26

I spoke to an employee friend today,he said mrw are asking for voluntary redundancies,you cannot believe this shower of a company.

[jlondon] 09/9/2021 16:15

"Morrisons bidding war overshadows disappointing interims."-Proactive Investors, Thur, 9 Sep 2021, 7 hrs ago. "...unlikely to dampen the buying interest from private equity rivals, CD&R and Fortress and the formal auction later this month is likely to see the BIDDING TOP 300p level, said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb." To read, call up the title for all the details.

[scotches] 09/9/2021 10:42

How will PE operate the business more efficiently than the current management? What exactly is it they will do differently to maximise profit potential? Probably nothing much since as already stated it is really all about the property assets. Still sitting on the sidelines is Amazon who might actually be interested in the grocery and food manufacturing aspect of the business. Of course that doesn't mean Amazon have to own the business since PE will still want to maintain them as customer. Today's report mentions "'Morrisons on Amazon' now expanded to over 60 towns and cities, covering 60% of the British population and accounting for more than 10% of sales in the majority of stores offering the service. We are also supplying the new Amazon Fresh UK stores."

[nerdlinger] 09/9/2021 07:58

"No interim dividend declared given offers from CD&R and Fortress" The exec appear to be fully committed to a takeover, the CD&R offer even allowed for interim dividends stating that they would just be deducted from the offer price.

[chinese investor] 07/9/2021 12:47

I've SOLD !

[tygwyg] 07/9/2021 12:38

285 achieved... 3xx still on. Starting to feel xxy

[jlondon] 06/9/2021 11:03

"Morrisons bidding war to be decided on a dramatic auction showdown."-This is Money, 13 hrs ago. [Daily Mail] "Bidding war for Morrisons to be decided in auction showdown within weeks."-Retail Gazette, 1 hr ago. Mon, 6 Sep 2021 To read and check, kindly type the above titles into the search engine.

[jimmywilson612] 03/9/2021 12:41

Having reviewed Supermarket Income REIT presentation and what they do with their Supermarket freehold, I haven't heard much about what CD&R or Fortress could do similar. All you hear is about how these companies what to buy morrisons, then sell the freehold to make it work financially. That is probably true, but what they can also do is make the assets more valuable and obtain other income streams. With supermarkets come car parks - and usually too much spaces for what is needed moving forward. If these private equity companies could squeeze a drive-thru costa coffee/ Mcdonalds etc on this under-use land on a few sites then suddenly they can bring rental income which will just do directly to the bottom line and into their bank accounts. We all know Morrisons has alot of freehold property, but unsure what % of these would suit the plan outlined above.

[petersw1] 02/9/2021 15:34

Confirmation came out yesterday that Morrisons are moving to the FTSE 100 with effect from 20th September: Https://content.ftserussell.com/sites/default/files/ftse_uk_index_series_quarterly_review_september_2021.pdf

[chinese investor] 31/8/2021 16:22

Separate court and general meetings for shareholders to vote on both the Fortress and CD&R offers have now been scheduled for 5 October.

[johnwise] 29/8/2021 18:04

I don't see why they want to buy Morrisons.. Where are the new owners going to get much additional growth from it in such a highly competitive business sector, for that amount of money?.(Lidl and Aldi investing in UK ), Is the Government getting the assurance that the purchaser will not cash in Morrisons freehold shops,then leaving Morrisons to pay the new owners of the freehold rent on its shops?(that stunt helped to bankrupt Debenhams) https://www.cdr-inc.com/

[loganair] 24/8/2021 21:18

Trustees of Morrisons’ pension schemes have broken cover to warn that a £7bn private equity takeover threatens to “materially weaken” their financial position, and demanded additional security over some of the supermarket’s assets. Trustees who represent the schemes’ 85,500 members are concerned that they will be outranked by lenders who are helping fund the takeover should the supermarket hit trouble – meaning pensioners would have to wait for banks to be repaid first during a crisis. They are also worried about the cost of servicing that debt burden , as well as future corporate activity including refinancing and restructuring. Steve Southern, the chair of trustees for the Morrisons Retirement Saver Plan and the Safeway Pension Scheme, said more protection was needed and they wanted it to be in place before shareholders vote on the deal. Unlike many company schemes, the two pension funds, which are closed to new members, are in surplus. They benefit from security over some of the company’s large freehold property estate. However, they do not have enough money to buy annuities for their 85,500 members, with the cost of doing so estimated to be £800m on a windup basis, the trustees said. The current funding arrangements would allow them to complete this task within a decade. While this “buy out” deficit remained, they said, the schemes were dependent on the Morrisons business for support, and if it were to go bust they would be an unsecured creditor. Whether it was an offer from CD&R or Fortress that succeeded, without additional protection the change in ownership would weaken the company’s ability to support the schemes, the trustees said in a lengthy statement. Pensions have become an increasingly sensitive area in takeovers, after high-profile scandals such as Sir Philip Green’s £1 sale of BHS which left a huge hole in the department store chain’s pension scheme. He later paid £363m to make it good. The trustees had been in talks with Fortress since last month when the grocer’s board backed its offer for the company. However, the board has now switched to CD&R and as yet they have not had the same opportunity to hold discussions with the buyout firm, although an initial meeting has taken place. In a statement CD&R said that if its takeover was successful the pension rights of all of Morrisons’ management team and employees would be “fully safeguarded”. It described it first meeting with the trustees as a “positive discussion” and said it accepted that they would want to discuss providing additional security to the schemes through an appropriate mitigation package. “Given their position as important stakeholder in Morrisons, CD&R looks forward to further positive engagement with the trustees and to providing the appropriate support to the schemes and its members,” it said. The trustees said they wanted to agree an appropriate mitigation package – which would be likely to focus on signing over the rights to more of the company’s property – with CD&R as soon as possible. They would also demand the same concessions from Fortress should it continue to pursue an offer for Morrisons. John Ralfe, an independent pensions consultant who has previously advised Morrisons on its pension schemes, said the trustees were “doing the right thing in asking for cash or security to protect the position of members”, and suggested the figures involved would not be a dealbreaker. “The schemes are in good shape, so the buy out deficit is only £800m, not large in the context of the CD&R offer,” he said. “CD&R should get out their chequebook and pay some or all of this.”

[leadersoffice] 23/8/2021 12:23

The whole food retail sector now alight

[chinese investor] 22/8/2021 18:59

Morrisons has reportedly lined up the former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy as its next chairman, as the supermarket’s takeover war continues. Leahy is in pole position to fill the role due to his retail nous and previous track record at discounter B&M, The Telegraph reported. He is being lined up as the next chairman of Morrisons if the £7 billion takeover offer from US private equity firm CD&R is successful. Leahy is also a senior adviser at CD&R. B&M chief executive Simon Arora reportedly had a good working relationship with Leahy when he was chairman of the discounter, which led to a fruitful exit for CD&R after it floated the chain on the London Stock Exchange. The same would apply to Morrisons chief executive David Potts, who used to work with Leahy at Tesco. Morrisons denied that Potts would be opposed to working for Leahy again, despite rumours. A clear out of the non-executive directors is also on the cards, which is standard practice after a takeover deal. Two CD&R executives who are working on the Morrisons deal – Marco Herbst and Gregory Lai – could take a place on the supermarket’s board. Leahy was at the helm of Tesco for 14 years as chief executive, overseeing a period of rapid growth, before retiring in 2010. He would replace Andrew Higginson, Morrisons’ current chairman, who joined in 2017.