M&S stirs up Sainsbury's bid talk

Marks & Spencer’s admission of interest in a potential bid for Sainsbury’s could press the retailer’s private equity suitors into tabling a firm offer for the company, a leading retail analyst said today.

M&S said it had considered a bid for Sainsbury’s but decided not to make an offer, dampening speculation after chief executive Stuart Rose told a conference that the idea of a bid was “interesting”.