Interesting thoughts, but I think both 1 and 2 are relatively...

Interesting thoughts, but I think both 1 and 2 are relatively unlikely. I think option 1 would not be looked upon favorably by the regulators and option 2 is to some extent shooting themselves in the foot. They would need to invest a lot of money in upgrading their own web offering and even then they will only slowly capture Jumbo's customer base. I'm in 2 minds about the whole takeover idea. They have always had agents who do their selling for them, so in a way I suspect that provided they are getting their margin they are happy. Even though online sales are growing market share, I think the newsagent channel will be around for a long time.