Coles came close to buying a major stake in arch rival Woolworths under a plan hatched by billionaire retailer Solomon Lew almost 30 years ago.

Mr Lew, who was on the board of Coles Myer from 1985 to 2002 and chairman from 1991 to 1995, proposed that Coles take a 20 per cent cornerstone shareholding in Woolworths’ 1993 float to “rescue” it from the collapsed Adelaide Steamship Group.