The Co-operative Group (Co-op) is buying rival Somerfield for £1.57bn.
The Co-Op has a mutual structure with 2.5 million members. It has more than 4,300 UK retail outlets, and employs 85,000 people
Somerfield has 880 stores. It generated net sales of £4.2 billion in the year to April, with underlying earnings of £233 million.
Somerfield is owned by a consortium that includes private equity firm Apex, Barclays Capital and property magnate Robert Tchenguiz. They bought the chain for about £1.1bn three years ago.
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