LONDON: Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, tightened its hold on the nation’s food market on Wednesday when the competition regulator gave final approval for its £3.7 billion ($4.95 billion) takeover of wholesaler Booker.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had concluded the deal, first announced in January, does not raise competition concerns.
Its ruling clears the way for Tesco and Booker shareholders to vote on the transaction in February and completion the following month.
The Booker deal is the boldest move yet by Tesco CEO Dave Lewis, providing the supermarket group access to the faster growing “out of home” food market, given Booker’s role as a major distributor to the catering industry.
Clients of Booker, the UK’s biggest wholesaler, include chains such as Wagamama, Carluccio’s, Byron and celebrity chef Rick Stein, as well as thousands of independent caterers.
Booker also owns about 200 cash and carry warehouses in the UK and supplies the Budgens, Londis and Family Shopper convenience chains, which are run as franchise operations.
Tesco has a 28.2 percent share of Britain’s grocery retail market, according to the latest industry data.
The CMA had provisionally cleared the transaction in November, having formally opened its investigation in May.
That unconditional approval surprised analysts and disappointed wholesale and retail rivals who had expected the regulator would insist on some store divestments or restrictions on operations from Tesco.
The CMA said a group of independent panel members had examined all submissions received since its provisional findings before coming to the final view.
“We have carefully listened to feedback from retailers and wholesalers who operate in what are highly competitive UK retail and wholesale sectors,” said Simon Polito, chair of the inquiry group.
“Retailers have told us that they shop around for the best prices and service from their wholesaler, and we are confident that this will continue after Tesco buys Booker.”
For each Booker share, Tesco, which welcomed the CMA’s decision, is offering 0.861 new Tesco shares and 42.6 pence in cash.
“The CMA has poked its nose in all sorts of footling competition issues before ... but it has found nothing to worry about in the Tesco and Booker merger and has not even forced Tesco to sell its One Stop convenience store chain,” said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb.
Tesco’s move on Booker has sparked further consolidation in Britain’s £185 billion grocery market as supermarkets seek additional sources of growth.
Analysts expect more M&A activity as supermarkets seek to use excess capacity in their supply chains.
Sainsbury’s, Britain’s No. 2 grocer, considered a bid for the Nisa convenience chain before the Co-operative Group secured a £138 million deal.
Morrisons, the No. 4, has signed a wholesale supply deal with the McColl’s chain.
Tesco strengthens grip on UK food market with Booker clearance
Tesco strengthens grip on UK food market with Booker clearance
Saudi exchange leads GCC in foreign net buying in 2025, hits $5.5bn: Kamco Invest
RIYADH: Foreign investors poured $5.5 billion into the Saudi exchange in 2025, the highest net buying in the Gulf Cooperation Council, an analysis showed.
In its latest report, Kamco Invest said the Kingdom was followed by the Abu Dhabi and Kuwait exchanges, which saw net foreign inflows of $3.4 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, over the 12 months.
Dubai and Qatar also registered net buying in 2025, amounting to $1.3 billion and $171 million, respectively.
The steady performance in the majority of exchanges in the region comes as GCC equity markets continue to attract global capital, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and ongoing economic reforms.
“The yearly trend indicated continued positive activity by foreign investors on GCC exchanges in 2025, although total buying declined over the course of the year,” said Kamco Invest in the report.
According to the analysis, the Oman Exchange recorded the largest net sales by foreign investors in 2025 at $440 million, followed by Bahrain, which posted net sales of $10.3 million.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, net buying by foreign investors in the Kingdom stood at $1 billion, followed by Oman at $86.6 million.
All other exchanges, excluding the Kingdom and Oman, witnessed a net selling trend in the fourth quarter.
“Quarterly trading data showed that foreign investors were net sellers in Q4-2025 on all exchanges barring Saudi Arabia and Oman. Saudi Arabia recorded net foreign buying of $1 billion, while Oman saw net inflows of $86.6 million during the (fourth) quarter, partially offsetting the overall net sales across the region,” added Kamco Invest.
Foreign investors were the biggest sellers of Abu Dhabi stocks with net sales of $1 billion during the quarter, followed by Kuwait at $187.9 million, Bahrain at $45.6 million, and Qatar at $8.8 million.
Saudi Arabia and Oman also recorded consecutive net buying by foreign investors across all three months of the fourth quarter, signaling rising investor interest in these countries.
Dubai exhibited a net selling trend during the first two months of the fourth quarter, which subsequently reversed to net buying in the final month of the year.
Qatar registered net buying in the first month of the quarter before shifting to net selling in the second month, and returned to net buying in the final month.
The UAE and Kuwait exchanges experienced consistent net selling by foreign investors across all three months of the fourth quarter.
Kamco Invest said that the key factors which affected the flow of foreign money in the region included regional market trends, economic health of individual countries and crude oil prices.
