He also suggested the relatively modest 12% bid premium meant Booker shareholders were just as reliant as Tesco investors on receiving future benefits from the merged business. Booker's shareholder register may have changed since the announcement of the deal in late January, according to Shore Capital's Clive Black. Black suggested long-term Booker investors were not convinced of the long-term benefits of the tie up, commenting: "We sense that many long-standing Booker investors have expressed their view by taking advantage of the stock mark-up following the merger announcement and ending their association with the company."