Sainsbury's bid talks set to continue

Talks between Sainsbury’s and the Qatari-backed fund interested in buying the supermarket chain today looked set to continue into next week.

The two sides are said to have held a “constructive” meeting yesterday, when issues relating to the structure of the bid, the handling of the company’s pension deficit and the takeover price were reportedly discussed.

The Times newspaper said the Qatari backers of the Delta Two fund have so far proved unwilling to move significantly on either the structure or price.

The 600p-a-share proposal from Delta Two, which values the supermarket chain at around £10.6bn (€15.6bn), includes around £6bn (€8.7bn) of debt.

Delta Two requires 75% of shareholders to back the bid in order to secure the financing, but with the Sainsbury’s family owning around 18% of the company it may be difficult to reach that level of acceptances. Members of the family are said to be against such a highly-geared bid and also believe that the 600p a share proposal is too low.

The Sainsbury’s board, meanwhile, is thought to be minded to recommend the offer, but will not want to give access to its books unless it can be sure a formal offer will emerge.