Regulators will widen their investigation into Sainsbury's planned merger with Asda to take account of the rapid rise of Aldi and Lidl.

The Competition and Markets Authority will also assess the rise of online firms in its probe of a deal that would create the UK's largest grocer.


The ongoing rise of Aldi and Lidl was underlined on Tuesday as they continue to win a bigger slice of the UK market.


Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda all lost out, Kantar World panel data showed.


There had been speculation that the rapid growth of the German discounters might not be considered in the CMA's review.
But its latest update, the CMA said it has broadened its scope to include Aldi and Lidl as well as non-grocery competitors such as B&M, Amazon and John Lewis & Partners.


Stuart McIntosh, chairman of the CMA's inquiry group, said: "Millions of people shop at Asda and Sainsbury's every week, so it is essential we carry out a thorough investigation into their proposed merger.


"Our job is to find out whether the merger will result in people paying more, or being faced with less choice or a poorer quality shopping experience."


In their own submission to the CMA, Sainsbury's and Asda said that Aldi and Lidl "have had the most profound impact" on the grocery market over the past decade.




BBC     News.