Bidding war speculation gives UK's Morrisons shares a boost

Shares in British supermarket chain Morrisons have spiked by 11% as investors priced in the possibility of a bidding war for the company after a third U.S.-based private equity company said it was mulling a bid

LONDON -- Shares in British supermarket chain Morrisons spiked by 11% on Monday as investors priced in the possibility of a bidding war for the company after a third U.S.-based investment company said it was mulling a bid. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management said it is "in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible offer for Morrisons” and that no formal approach has yet been made. “There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made,” Apollo said in a statement. The statement comes after the retailer said it had agreed a 6.3 billion-pound ($8.7 billion) takeover from a group of investors led by Fortress Investment. When debt is added in, that bid is worth 9.5 billion pounds.