The stock market's Takeover Panel has announced bids over the supermarket must now be submitted. The initial round of bidding will take place on Saturday with the result revealed on Monday. US private equity firms, Fortress and Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) are set to bid over the UK supermarket chain.

       If one firm decides it will not increase its current offers, the process will be scrapped.

       CD&R made the first approach for the supermarket in June.

       Fortress then made an offer of ￡6.3billion in July before increasing that to ￡6.7billion in August.

       After CD&R increased their own bid to ￡7billion, the Morrisons board pledged their support for the higher offer.

       The Takeover Panel said: “On the basis that neither offeror has declared its offer final, such that either offer may be increased or otherwise revised, a competitive situation continues to exist.”

       An auction will now take place where either side is free to increase their bids.

       Up to three further rounds of bidding will take place.

       Each equity firm can only make an offer if the other side has increased its bid in the previous round.

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       In other news, some workers at Morrisons won a key legal battle in their fight for equal pay.

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       A group of female Morrisons retail staff had been fighting to receive similar wages to those of their male counterparts in distribution centres.

       Judge Davies at the Leeds Employment Tribunal ruled shop floor workers and warehouse workers should be considered as similar.

       Morrisons argued the two cannot be classed as similar as retail staff and warehouse workers because each of its distribution centres has individual, collectively bargained terms and conditions.

       Ellie Pinnells, a partner and group litigation specialist at Roscoe Reid, representing the staff, said: "We are hugely encouraged by this decision which, following the Supreme Court's ruling in the Asda case, gives hope to thousands of mostly female workers who have been unfairly underpaid by their employer.

       "As employment Judge Davies noted, 'Responsibility for any inequality, and for putting it right, remains with the board'.

       "I would urge the board of Morrisons, and any party interested in a takeover of Morrisons, to put right a wrong that has persisted since the Equal Pay Act 1974."