Sainsbury’s today (15 June) became the subject of renewed takeover speculation when a Qatari investment group upped its stake in the UK retailer to 25%.
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Delta (Two) Ltd has bought a further 7.1% stake in Sainsbury’s at 595 pence a share, in a deal valued at GBP732m (US$1.4bn).
Delta, a vehicle of the Qatari royal family, did not disclose the seller of the shares.
The fund’s stake-building activity has sparked rumours that Sainsbury’s could be in for another round of takeover attempts. Delta Two was active in pushing for Sainsbury’s to accept the recent takeover bid that was successfully fended off by the group’s management last month.
Delta is run by Paul Walker, a former associate of Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon who holds 5% of Sainsbury’s shares. Together, Delta Two and Tchenguiz hold a 30% stake in Sainsbury’s which, if they teamed up, would trigger an automatic offer for the company.
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By GlobalDataActivist investor Tchenguiz is known to advocate selling off the retailer’s freehold property in order to boost shareholder returns, a move that has, until now, been dismissed by CEO Justin King.
When contacted by just-food this morning (15 June), Sainsbury’s declined to comment on Delta’s stake-building activity.
Shares in Sainsbury’s had risen by almost 4.5% by 10:02 this morning, rising to 591 pence.
