Irish food group Musgrave - which bought UK supermarket chain Budgens last year - has offered to buy symbol group Londis for £40m.

If Londis shareholders give the deal the go-ahead after a meeting on December 30, each Londis member will receive £10,500.

Musgrave would then take control of Londis at the end of January 2004.

The Irish group would keep both the Londis and Budgens trading names.

Executive chairman of Musgrave, Eoin McGettigan, said: "With this acquisition we intend to strengthen the offer supporting independent retailers by combining great distribution networks and systems with unbeatable customer service."

Londis chairman Peter Williams said the Musgrave deal would "allow our customers to continue operating as independent store holders, while gaining substantial additional buying power through a £3bn-plus combined purchasing capability…"

Londis, has 2,256 stores and was formed in 1959 by independent retailers of the London district council of the National Grocers Federation.

Full details in this Saturday’s issue of The Grocer.