The Co-operative Group is expected to unveil its long-awaited £1.6bn takeover of Somerfield today.
Banking sources said that they were putting the finishing touches to the deal last night.
The acquisition will make the Co-op Britain's fifth-biggest supermarket chain, with more than 3,000 stores and annual sales of £10bn.
Somerfield's shareholders, which include Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, Apax and Barclays Capital, had been hoping to sell the business for as much as £2.5bn before the credit crunch.
The Times, Daily Telegraph
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