Britain refers Sainsbury's-Asda merger to in-depth review

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said Sainsbury's 7.3 billion-pound takeover of Asda would be referred to an in-depth review because their stores overlapped in hundreds of local areas.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday that shoppers could face higher prices or a worse quality of service in places where both chains had shops.

It said it also needed to investigate whether a combination of the country's second and third biggest supermarkets would have increased buying power over suppliers.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Costas Pitas)