The competition regulator said that the deal would have led to increased prices and reduced quality and choice of products CHRIS J RATCLIFFE / GETTY IMAGESThe £12 billion merger of the supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Asda has collapsed after the competition regulator blocked the deal over fears that it would lead to price rises. The country’s second and third biggest grocers today agreed to abandon the tie-up after the Competition and Markets Authority, which has been investigating it for almost a year, ruled that it would cause a “substantial lessening of competition” both locally and nationally. The decision by the regulator is the final nail in the coffin of a merger that has been on the brink for months. In February the CMA published the provisional findings of its investigation that raised extensive concerns. The collapse of the deal is a significant blow to Mike Coupe, the chief executive of…

Source: The Times April 25, 2019 08:03 UTC