Bidding war brewing for UK grocer Morrisons

Private equity group, Apollo Global Management, is in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible offer for Morrisons but had not approached its board

Morrisons said its board had recommended a takeover led by SoftBank-owned Fortress Investment Group that valued the firm at £6.3bn (€.7.4bn).

The $8.7bn (€7.3bn) bid battle for Britain's fourth-largest supermarket group Morrisons has ratcheted up with a third private equity group, Apollo Global Management, entering the fray.

US group Apollo, which last year missed out on buying Asda, the number three grocery player in the UK, said it was in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible offer for Morrisons but had not approached its board.