Sainsbury’s, Asda Set Out to Create a ‘Dynamic New Player’ in Retail

LONDON – British supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Walmart-owned Asda have confirmed plans to merge, creating Britain’s largest grocer with combined revenues of more than 50 billion pounds and promising “a dynamic new player” in U.K. retail. The confirmation follows a flurry of media reports over the weekend that the two retailers were poised to seal a deal in an increasingly tough market. In a joint statement issued to the London Stock Exchange Monday, the stores said the merger would result in Walmart holding 42 percent of the issued share capital of the new entity and receiving 2.98 billion pounds in cash. The deal values Asda at approximately 7.3 billion pounds, on a debt-free, cash-free and pension-free basis. Walmart will not hold more than 29.9 per cent of the total voting rights in the new business. Both the Sainsbury’s and Asda brand names will remain. The retailers said the complementary network of more than 2,800 Sainsbury’s, Asda and Argos catalogue stores will create greater choice for customers through more store formats and channels, with a combined 47 million customer transactions per week. Shares in Sainsbury’s, which is quoted on the London Stock Exchange, shot up nearly 20 percent to 3.23 pounds following the announcement. “The retail sector is

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