MORRISONS supermarket chain broke free of the regulatory constraints on its £3 bn takeover of Safeway by announcing the sale of a final batch of stores.
Morrisons said it had exchanged contracts on a quartet of stores in the north of England to fulfil commitments made to the Office of Fair Trading.
The OFT had demanded that Morrisons sell 52 Safeway branches to ease competition concerns over its historic takeover which was completed in March last year.
and buyers have included major rivals Waitrose, Asda and Sainsbury.
Of the stores being sold today, Tesco will take control of the former Safeway branch at Coulby Newham on Teeside if the purchase is rubber-stamped the OFT
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