Apollo Global joins battle for Britain's Morrisons

On Saturday Morrisons agreed to a takeover led by SoftBank owned Fortress Investment Group that valued Britain's fourth-largest grocer at 6.3 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) and topped a rival proposal from another private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). The interest in Morrisons underlines the growing appetite from private funds for British supermarket chains, which are seen as attractive because of their cash generation and freehold assets.

U.S. private equity company Apollo Global Management said on Monday it was considering a possible offer for British supermarket group Morrisons which on Saturday agreed a 6.3 billion pound ($8.7 billion) takeover with another group.

Apollo said no approach has been made to the board of Morrisons. On Saturday Morrisons agreed to a takeover led by SoftBank owned Fortress Investment Group that valued Britain's fourth-largest grocer at 6.3 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) and topped a rival proposal from another private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

The interest in Morrisons underlines the growing appetite from private funds for British supermarket chains, which are seen as attractive because of their cash generation and freehold assets. The funds believe the stock market is not recognizing the grocers' value in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year Apollo missed out on buying Asda, Britain's third-largest supermarket group, to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital. ($1 = 0.7232 pounds)