Its biggest competitor (LivingSocial) is nearly out of business and other would-be players with deep pockets (Amazon and Google) have lost most of their interest in doing much here.

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"AirAsia will initially start on a low-scale but once they scale up their operations, I would expect them to be a formidable competitor in India, " said Kapil Kaul, the South Asia chief executive at aviation consultancy CAPA-Centre for Aviation.

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Safeway, fourth among the U.K.'s retail grocers, would be a tempting target for any of the top three--if only to keep the properties out of a competitor's hands.

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