Safeway chief executive Carlos Criado-Perez is supportive of the idea of merger with Morrisons and believes it will enhance competition among retailers.
Criado-Perez also believes that it is unlikely that all four potential bidders for the store will be blocked by the Competition Commission, which is due to deliver its recommendations to Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary tomorrow.
The competition watchdog is expected to endorse the bid from the Morrison's because it would create a powerful fourth national player to challenge Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.
Martin Coleman of the law firm Norton Rose told The Times that Morrison's will be cleared and that the commission could also clear Asda. He said: “If you are looking at local market overlaps, Asda is the next best choice after Morrison's because, on the whole, they operate in different parts of the country.”
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