LONDON — British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is set to reveal details of a megamerger with Asda that would create a formidable retail force and solve a few headaches for Asda’s parent Walmart. Sainsbury’s said it plans to update the markets Monday morning regarding its proposed tie-up with Asda. The deal, estimated to be 12 billion pounds, would be the biggest M&A strike the supermarket sector has witnessed in more than 10 years. The news, which shocked the industry, was reported by Sky News on Saturday. Sainsbury’s later confirmed that it was in “advanced discussions” with Walmart Inc. regarding a combination of the Sainsbury’s and Asda businesses, but declined to give further details about the structure of the new behemoth. Asda declined to comment on the talks. The tie-up would create a retailer with an estimated annual sales volume of 50 billion pounds, knocking Tesco out of its number-one supermarket slot. It would also create a retail force that could negotiate more effectively with non-U.K. suppliers ahead of Brexit and with a more volatile pound. Although the news came as a surprise, many industry observers said it would make good sense given the fierce price competition among U.K. supermarkets, shrinking profit margins, sourcing pressures due
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