The speculation surrounding Sainsbury’s refuses to die down, with Asda refusing to rule a bid out and the name of property investor Robert Tchenguiz thrown into the ring.
Asda’s chief executive Andy Bond said late last week he is in the mood to acquire business, but has thus far refused to be drawn on whether his sights are set on Sainsbury’s.
"If we could find a company that the government would let us buy and which could further our strategy we would have a look," Bond told The Herald. He added that he would “get shot” by Wal-Mart if he was to comment on the viability of any Sainsbury’s bid.
The Herald’s report suggested that “comments made by Bond during a visit to an Asda store in Edinburgh indicated he would be interested in buying another member of the big four, rather than trying to buy a smaller player”.
The competition has boosted its presence in the convenience store market, but Bond’s preference is to stay in the big-store sector. "We might do it (convenience stores) at some point but it's not top of my shopping list," he is reported as saying, explaining that a one per cent like-for-like increase in sales from its supermarkets would make as much as 500 convenience stores.
"What do you think is more important for me?" he asked.
Bond said that after meeting the objective of getting the core business back into the growth mode in 2006, Asda has made a strong start to the current year. Asda has announced plans for 20 new stores this year and Bond Insists that Tesco owes its market leadership to the fact that it had more stores, rather than better performance. "We are the fastest growing of the big four. We are growing all aspects of the business," Bond said.
Tchenguiz, who also owns a large stake in Somerfield, topped up his holding in Sainsbury’s twice last week as speculation grew he is looking at a counter-offer to a CVC-led consortium.
Razino, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tchenguiz Family Trust, increased its stake in Sainsbury's from 3.16 per cent to 3.47 per cent. Tchenguiz is now thought to be one of the top 10 shareholders in the chain.
CVC's consortium, which includes Blackstone, Texas Pacific and KKR, is reportedly close to a decision on whether to table an £11bn-plus offer or walk away. The Takeover Panel told the consortium it must decide by April 13.
