Malcolm Walker of Iceland 300
ICELAND founder Malcolm Walker could face competition from American giant Walmart as the jockeying for position escalates ahead of the sale of the food retailer.
The formal bidding process for the Deeside-based retailer, which has annual sales of £2.3bn, is scheduled to begin in September.
Iceland is controlled by the administrators of failed Icelandic banks Landsbanki and Glitnir Banki, with founder and chief executive Malcolm Walker and management holding the remaining 23%.
Reports yesterday linked Walmart-owned Asda with a bid, with Morrisons also understood to be considering an offer for the company.
Asda is said to have appointed City advisers Lazard to help it assemble a bid for the 750-strong chain.
It recently boosted its position in the UK with the acquisition of stores from Danish discount food chain Netto.
