Labour has urged the government to step in to ensure a potential private equity takeover of supermarket chain Morrisons does not affect Britain’s food security, damage farming, or lead to job losses. The country’s fourth-largest grocer, which employs 110,000 people, said on Saturday it had rejected an unsolicited £5.5bn offer from US buyout group Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R). – Guardian
Channel 4’s four decades as a publicly owned broadcaster could be about to come to an end, with ministers pushing ahead with controversial plans to sell the channel as part of a shake-up that could transform the landscape of British television. The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, confirmed that he would hold a swift consultation on proposed privatisation, in a move that would mark the end of an era in British broadcasting and would radically alter how one of the UK’s leading public service television networks operates. – Guardian
The UK government has told HMRC to show lenience in collecting unpaid taxes from companies ravaged by coronavirus-induced debt, in order to avoid a wave of insolvencies this summer. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote to business groups this week promising that the taxman would take “a cautious approach to enforcement of debt owed to government that will have accrued” amid the pandemic. – Telegraph
Nordgold has pulled a planned London listing after gold prices fell on expectations of rising US interest rates. The Russian gold miner had been targeting a valuation of more than $5 billion and a place in the FTSE 100 index. It said yesterday it had decided to “postpone” its proposed initial public offering (IPO) following the drop in prices for the precious metal. – The Times
A London-based hedge fund wrongfooted by this year’s meme stock frenzy is shutting down. White Square Capital has told investors that it is closing its main fund and returning capital to clients, according to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the fund. – The Times
