Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket chain, held preliminary merger talks with Morrisons, its private-equity-owned rival, between November 2025 and February this year. Sainsbury's ultimately ended these discussions.
A merger between the two companies would have represented a significant change in the UK grocery market. Sainsbury's holds a 15.2% market share, while Morrisons has 8.4%, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. Their combined share would be 23.6%.
There are no active talks between the two supermarkets at present, although the possibility of future discussions has not been ruled out by either party. Both Morrisons and Sainsbury's declined to comment on the matter.