The Co-operative Group’s £143mln takeover of Nisa has been narrowly approved by the convenience store chain’s members.
The deal was backed by 75.8% of Nisa’s members, with the remaining 24.2% members voting against it during a meeting held at Leeds United Football Club’s Elland Road stadium. Turnout for the vote was 80%.
The takeover needed the approval of at least three quarters of Nisa members.
Nisa’s board recommended in October that the 1,190 shopkeepers who own the business accept the deal. The Co-op will pay £20,000 up front as well as deferred payments worth more than £410,000 for those who own 250 shares in Nisa, the maximum allowed.
The deal values Nisa at about 20 times its current share price and will give the Co-op access to a network of 3,200 stores.
Co-op to add buying power to Nisa
Nisa chairman, Peter Hartley, said: "The convenience store environment is changing rapidly, and is unrecognisable from that which existed when Nisa was founded more than 40 years ago. Co-op will add buying power and product range to our offering, while respecting our culture of independence.”
Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food, added: “Together Co-op and Nisa can go from strength to strength, serving customers up and down the country and creating real value for them in their communities.”
The takeover still needs approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is expected at the end of March.
Nisa was formed in the 1970s with the aim of protecting the interests of independents “against the insurgence of the national supermarket chains”.
Supermarket upheaval
Its decision to agree to the takeover by the Co-op comes as UK supermarkets expand into other areas of business as they lose market share to discounters Lidl and Aldi and contend with rising inflation and weak consumer confidence.
Tesco's has proposed a £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler and convenience shop business Booker, which is currently being reviewed by the CMA.
J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) had entered an exclusivity period with Nisa for a takeover deal but shelved talks pending the outcome of the CMA’s investigation into Tesco-Booker.
The CMA is expected to reveal its findings of a five-month investigation of Tesco’s expansion plan this week.