The battle over supermarket chain Morrisons will be decided next month in a head-to-head auction between its two suitors.
Morrisons said that it had approached the Takeover Panel about agreeing a sale that would bring the battle between Clayton Dubilier & Rice and a consortium led by Fortress to a close.
The use of auctions is rare, but is being seen as the only option as neither bidder has declared their offer “final”.