The Takeover Panel has set a deadline until April 13 for the private equity consortium led by CVC Partners to bid for J. Sainsbury, Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group. Should the consortium fail to make a firm offer for Sainsbury, it would be prevented from making a fresh bid attempt for six months, apart from under specific circumstances that would include a rival offer.
Private equity firms CVC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Blackstone said last month they were pondering a joint bid for Sainsbury. Texas Pacific Group subsequently joined the consortium. The bid, if executed, will be Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout.
Shares in Sainsbury rose nearly 3 per cent to a eight-year high of 539 pence, with more than 90 million shares traded.
