UK supermarket group Sainsbury's confirmed on Wednesday that it has received an informal takeover offer of 610p a share from Delta Two, a Qatari investment group. The bid values Sainsbury's at about £12 bn (EUR 18 bn) and comes three months after the retailer rejected a high-profile offer from private equity group CVC Capital Partners.
UK supermarket group Sainsbury's confirmed on Wednesday that it has received an informal takeover offer of 610p a share from Delta Two, a Qatari investment group. The bid values Sainsbury's at about £12 bn (EUR 18 bn) and comes three months after the retailer rejected a high-profile offer from private equity group CVC Capital Partners.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Sainsbury's said: 'J Sainsbury confirms it has received a preliminary approach from Delta (Two), which may or may not lead to an offer being made for Sainsbury. The board will make a further announcement, as appropriate, in due course.'
Delta owns 25% of Sainsbury's and is reported to be courting property entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz to win his backing for the bid. Tchenguiz has a declared 5% stake in the supermarket group. However, with derivatives, his holding is thought to be closer to 10%.
Earlier this year, Sainsbury's resisted pressure from Tchenguiz to sell up to £4 bn of real estate to return cash to shareholders. The company's real estate assets are currently valued at some £8.6 bn. Sainsbury's holds the freehold to about 60% of its 750 stores, compared to rivals Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, which hold some 80%.