Morrisons shares have risen by more than 5 per cent after rumours that the founding family may take the firm private, Sky Newshas reported.
The Morrison family, which currently owns 10 per cent of stock, has so far been unable to find a buyout partner because of the retailer’s flagging sales, according to Sky News.
The news outlet reported that, according to Bloomberg, private equity companies CVC Capital Partners and the Carlyle Group have been approached to gauge their interest in a buyout, valued at more than £7bn.
The rumours have also boosted stocks at Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Total till roll spend among Morrisons’ consumers fell by 2.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 2 February 2014, compared to the same period last year, according to the most recent Kantar data on grocery market share.
Fraser McKevitt, retail analyst at Kantar, said: “Grocery market growth slipped slightly to 2.4 per cent, indicating that brighter economic prospects are yet to be seen in the nation’s shopping trolleys.
“Asda managed to grow with sales up 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago, but lost share after failing to match the 2.4 per cent market growth. Tesco and Morrisons also lost market share as a result of declining sales.
“As the UK’s biggest retailer, Tesco unsurprisingly reflected the slow overall market with sales down by 0.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.”
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