A spokesman for Sainsbury's pension trustees said yesterday that the trustees are unaware of any imminent bid for the supermarket chain, after traders cited market talk that a private equity offer is in the pipeline.
Reuters quoted the spokesman as saying if the CVC-led consortium circling Sainsbury was to put a bid in before gaining the trustees' approval, it would set a new precedent.
The market talk had added one per cent to Sainsbury’s share value, with an offer expected to come in at around £10 billion, which would make it Europe's largest leveraged buyout.
Sainsbury’s itself and the private equity consortium have so far declined to comment. The UK’s Takeover Panel has given the consortium, also including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Blackstone and Texas Pacific Group, until April 13 to bid.
Should a bid fail to materialise, Sainsbury's share price could fall back by at least 10 per cent, said Robin Geffen, managing director and chief investment officer of fund firm Neptune Investment Management. "There's a lot of rumour-mongering by would-be traders in these stocks and we're happy to walk away," Geffen, manager of Neptune’s income fund, said.
