Woolworths nears end as buyer fails to appear

Woolworths is set to hold a closing down sale in the next few days after administrators failed to find a buyer for the company's 813-store retail chain.

Baugur: the iceman cometh...

Some City analysts wrote off Woolworths as a lost cause a long time ago. But Malcolm Walker, chief executive of the frozen food specialist Iceland, and Baugur, the Icelandic retail investment group, clearly have not, and this weekend it emerged that they had made an offer to purchase Woolworths' retail division. Woolworths rejected the offer yesterday.

Merrill lowers Woolies guidance

Global investment house Merrill Lynch reduces its annual earnings forecasts for Woolworths but says the nation's largest retailer is still in great shape.

ACCC rejects Woolies Karabar acquisition

The ACCC has rejected the proposed acquisition of the Karabar Supermarket in NSW by the nation's largest retailer, Woolworths Ltd, on competition concerns.

David Prosser's Outlook: Why the man Woolies once sacked could now offer investors redemption

Woolworths may have said no rather speedily to the somewhat opportunistic approach made by a Baugur-led Icelandic consortium over the weekend, but how Malcolm Walker, the bidders' frontman, must have enjoyed making it. A mere 37 years ago, Mr Walker got the push from Woolies, which was (understandably) disgruntled about the amount of time he was spending building a small business on the side.

Canberra considers grocery pricing scheme

The Federal Government says it will introduce a mandatory national unit pricing scheme, one of the key recommendations from the ACCC inquiry into grocery prices.