Sainsbury's Losing Patience With Delta Two Takeover Bid

Tue, 11 Sep 2007

Sainsbury's is set to hasten would-be new owners Delta Two's decision on whether or not to proceed with a proposed £10.6 billion takeover bid, demanding them to either "put up or shut up".

After enduring nearly two months of discussions with the Qatari-backed group, Sainsbury's are hoping for a quick resolve to the issue by trying to force a firm offer by the end of this week.

Yesterday, Pali International analyst Nick Bubb, hinted that a deal could soon be agreed upon as he tipped the supermarket giant to open its books to Delta Two later this week.

But he cautioned there are still issues to be sorted out, such as pension liabilities.

In addition, the Sainsbury family is also concerned that £6billion of the proposed offer would come from borrowed money, while the future of Sainsbury chief executive Justin King remains unclear with regards to a successful takeover .

If the retailer has not received a firm offer by the end of the week, it will ask the City regulator to force Delta Two to launch its bid within a set period - or be prevented from doing so for 12 months, which would help the Sainsbury's board continue with its day-to-day running of the business .