Delta Two, the Qatari-backed investment fund, has pulled out of its talks to buy Sainsbury's. Back in July the fund announced that it was in discussions with the supermarket group about the possibility of them making a cash offer to acquire the 75% of the ordinary share capital it did not already own. At the end of last month the UK's Takeover Panel set a deadline of 8 November for Delta Two to finalise its bid after it had announced it was seeking an additional £500 mln (EUR 713 mln) of equity financing to fund its offer.
Delta Two, the Qatari-backed investment fund, has pulled out of its talks to buy Sainsbury's. Back in July the fund announced that it was in discussions with the supermarket group about the possibility of them making a cash offer to acquire the 75% of the ordinary share capital it did not already own. At the end of last month the UK's Takeover Panel set a deadline of 8 November for Delta Two to finalise its bid after it had announced it was seeking an additional £500 mln (EUR 713 mln) of equity financing to fund its offer.
The international credit crunch has reportedly made Delta Two's financing efforts more difficult. Should it wish to resume its takeover plans, it will now have to wait a minimum of 6 months before presenting a new offer. Sainsbury's responded to Delta Two's announcement by saying that its recovery plan is now well established and that it will report on its interim results and progress to date on 14 November.