Sainsbury's speculation mounts as deadline looms

The private equity consortium circling UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s could table an indicative £9.5bn (€14bn) offer before the Easter weekend, reports suggested today.

It is understood the group, led by CVC Capital, is planning to approach the chain’s board with an informal offer of around 550p a share as the April 13 “put up or shut up” deadline set by the Takeover Panel looms.