Private equity firms cool on Sainsbury's interest in UK

The prospect of a private equity battle over UK retailing giant J Sainsbury receded today amid reports that Cinven had dropped plans to form a rival team to bid for the FTSE-100 Index company.

Private equity houses CVC, KKR and Blackstone declared their interest in a potential bid for J Sainsbury to the stock exchange two weeks ago in a deal that could value the firm at £11bn (€16.33bn) including debt.