Target, the US discount store group, has quashed rumours of a bid for Sainsbury's.
The organisation hinted strongly that it has no interest in the UK company, saying it saw no overseas opportunities that met its acquisition criteria.
Doug Scovanner, Target’s chief financial officer, told a Goldman Sachs retail conference in New York that any acquisition would have to have sites that could be traded as Target stores and he was not aware of anything that met that criteria.
The group had been touted as a possible bidder for Sainsbury’s following the sale of its Marshall Field’s and Mervyn’s department stores.
Meanwhile, former Sainsbury’s chief executive Sir Peter Davis could be in line for a bumper pay off of around £4m from his former employers.
The retailer is reported to be close to agreeing the controversial deal. It had told shareholders it was attempting to work out a reduced pay-off for Davis when he left the company earlier than was expected in July, following a profits warning.
However, according to newspaper reports, Davis has a strong legal case and Sainsbury’s is thought to believe negotiations are unlikely to reduce the deal.
