THE Wm Morrison group was last night on the brink of becoming the fourth force in a nationwide supermarket battle.

The company, based in Bradford, offered a cash sweetener on top of its existing bid in a move that looks almost certain to be accepted by Safeway.

If successful, Morrisons will move from the regional to the national stage, with 552 stores and complete coverage from Scotland to the South.

It has offered a combined shares and cash deal worth in the region of £3bn - up slightly on its previous, lapsed bid of £2.9bn made nearly a year ago.

It will pay an estimated £600m on top of shares, a move that will be financed by the sale of 52 stores it will be forced to sell by the Competition Commission.

Sir Kenneth Morrison, executive chairman, described the tie-up as a "transforming" one for his chain, which was founded by his father in 1899.

He intends to invest about £525m a year in store conversions and other developments over the next three years, including the opening of about ten stores a year.

Sir Ken said: "Putting Morrisons and Safeway together will create a powerful national retailer able to challenge the other three majors. It will be good for customers and suppliers alike.

"The logic of combining Morrisons with Safeway is every bit as powerful today as it was a year ago."

Sir Ken will be hoping that the Safeway board approval of the revived offer will mark the end of a tortuous journey he started last January.

Rivals Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco all fell by the wayside - victims of the Competition Commission's stringent monopoly ruling. Bhs entrepreneur Philip Green and US investors Kravis, Kohlberg and Roberts also dropped out.

Asda, owned by US firm Wal-Mart threatened recently to upset the deal by trying to buy 70 Safeway branches.

Retail analyst Anthony Platts, of Wise Speke, described Asda's late move as "futile", adding: "The board of Safeway has recommended the new offer to its shareholders. With the Morrison bid being the only viable offer on the table, this is a one-horse race.

"The only remaining Safeway shareholder alternative of rejecting the bid looks very much like a suicide option given the increased need for scale and good management in the industry."

The merger is expected to come at the expense of 1,200 head office jobs as Safeway's HQ, in Hayes, in Middlesex, is moved to an enlarged facility in Bradford.

Cost savings and trading benefits worth £215m a year are expected by January 2008.

Morrisons, which is the UK's fifth largest food retailer, said it had not been distracted by the takeover struggle, with like-for-like sales up 9.6 per cent in the 17 weeks to December 7. In contrast, Safeway like-for-like sales in the 28 weeks to October 11 were static amid the uncertainty.