The £3 billion takeover of Safeway by Morrisons will go before shareholders of both supermarket groups on February 11, it was announced today.

News of the schedule came as a different approach to price discounting caused like-for-like sales at Safeway to fall 4.1% in the 12 weeks to January 3.

Despite the drop, Safeway said the performance was in line with expectations as its tougher approach to offers kept profits slightly ahead of last year.

Details of the sales performance, which compared with a drop of 2.5% in the first half of the company's financial year, were contained in documents posted to shareholders of Morrisons and Safeway today.

Both sets of investors will vote on the deal on February 11 with a date of March 8 set for the commencement of dealing in the enlarged Morrisons.

Sir Ken Morrison, who will remain executive chairman of Morrisons, said: ''The posting of the shareholder documentation brings us closer to the creation of a strong and highly competitive force in the UK grocery industry.

''I remain confident that Morrisons, working with the Safeway team, will be able to integrate Safeway swiftly and effectively.''

The tie-up will create a significant fourth force in the UK supermarket sector with 552 stores, combining Morrisons strength in the Midlands and North of England with Safeway's presence in Scotland and the South.

However, it is also likely to mean the loss of around 1,200 jobs as Morrisons plans to replace Safeway's head office in Hayes with an enlarged facility in Bradford. Cost savings and trading benefits worth £215 million a year are expected by January 2008.

The completion of the merger in March would be 14 months after Morrisons first shocked the retail sector with its proposal to buy Safeway. Rivals Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's were subsequently blocked from bidding for the group.