UK blocks Sainsbury's merger with US Walmart's arm Asda

London: Britain's Competition and Markets Authority watchdog on Thursday blocked the merger of supermarket giant Sainsbury's and Walmart-owned Asda, arguing it would result in higher prices and less choice. The pair — the nation's second and third biggest supermarket chains respectively — announced in reaction that they have scrapped their proposed deal. "The CMA has blocked the Sainsbury's-Asda merger after finding it would lead to increased prices in stores, online and at many petrol stations across the UK," the regulator said in a final report. The deal has now floundered one year after Sainsbury's and Asda unveiled their merger plans, which sought to create a retail king to leapfrog UK number one Tesco. The watchdog added that the transaction — which was effectively a takeover bid with Sainsbury's acquiring a majority 58-percent stake in the combined group and Walmart the rest — would result in a "substantial lessening of competition" at a national and local level.