Sky News reports that Morrisons, a British supermarket chain, has defeated rival Asda in a dispute to purchase McColl’s convenience store chain.

McColls, which runs 1,100 stores and employs 16,000, collapsed into administration, a form of protection from creditors, on Friday, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) named as administrator.

After Morrisons’ lenders turned down a rescue offer from Morrisons, EG Group was set to take control of McColls. TDR Capital and the brothers also own Asda.

Morrisons has a wholesale agreement with McColl’s. However, they came back over the weekend with a proposal. This will preserve all its stores, staff, and pension obligations, and allow lenders to be fully repaid.

All three Morrisons brands, McColl’s, and EG Group declined to comment.

McColl’s had been in discussions with its lenders for many weeks to find a solution to its funding problems. The shareholders of McColl’s had witnessed the entire value of their investments virtually disappear over the past year.

Stocks of the retailer were not available for trading Friday.