Walmart shares close lower on Friday, negotiations with Sainsbury over Asda acquisition at an advanced stage, Bloomberg reports

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, citing sources, negotiations between Sainsbury and Walmart over the acquisition of Asda have advanced. Sainsbury has already acknowledged plans to merge with Asda, which would lead to the formation of a supermarket giant in the UK with a market share of more than 30% and, as a result, grocery prices would be reduced at both stores. Still, the deal would have to be approved by UKs Competition and Markets Authority.

Walmart shares closed lower for the first time in the past four trading sessions on Friday. The stock went down 0.74% ($0.65) to $87.29, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $87.90 and $87.08 respectively.

In the week ended on April 29th the shares of the retail chain added 0.36% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of gains.

However, due to Fridays slump, the stock has extended its loss to 1.89% so far during the current month, following a 1.16% decrease in March. The latter has been a second straight month of losses.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed retailer went up 42.87% following another 12.76% surge in 2016.

“We expect to lower prices by around 10% on many of the products customers buy regularly”, the companies said in a statement, cited by BBC.

“It will create a business that is more dynamic, more adaptable, more resilient and an even bigger contributor to the UK economy”, Mike Coupe, Sainsburys Chief Executive Officer was quoted as saying.

The supermarkets also said that there would be no planned store closures, once the merger was complete.

Asda was acquired by Walmart back in 1999, when the US retailer was seeking to expand internationally.

After the deal is finalized, Walmart is expected to retain a 42% stake in the merged company.

According to CNN Money, the 31 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Walmart Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $103.00, with a high estimate of $126.00 and a low estimate of $90.00. The median estimate is an 18.00% surge compared to the closing price of $87.29 on April 27th.

The same media also reported that 18 out of 35 surveyed investment analysts had rated Walmart Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 14 – as “Buy”.