Good morning. .” hummed Mike Coupe, chief executive of J Sainsbury, a year ago as he waited to appear on ITV news seemingly unaware that the cameras were rolling (you can relive the toe-curling moment courtesy of YouTube). Having unveiled an audacious £12 billion plan to merge with its rival Asda, shares in Sainsbury had risen by nearly 17 per cent that day to trade at over 300p for the first time in four years. A year later the shares have given up all those gains (and plenty more) as the deal has unravelled and closed at 226p last night. As widely expected the Competition and Markets Authority has formally blocked the deal this morning…

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