Sainsbury, Asda "very unlikely" to appeal UK regulator's verdict - FT

April 24 (Reuters) - Sainsbury's and Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Walmart, are "very unlikely" to appeal against the verdict of Britain's regulator on their proposed merger, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

A person with knowledge of the situation told the FT: "An appeal is still an option, but I would regard it as very unlikely."

Britain's competition regulator will publish its final report on Sainsbury's proposed 7.3 billion pound ($9.43 billion) takeover of rival Asda on Thursday, with analysts and competition lawyers seeing little chance of the deal proceeding.

Sainsbury and Asda were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.77 pounds) (Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Angus MacSwan)