CVC abandons Sainsbury bid

Updated 16.45 Wed Apr 11 2007
Keywords: supermarket, Sainsbury, CVC

The £10.1 billion bid for supermarket giant Sainsbury's has been abandoned by private equity firm CVC.

The move follows the failure of CVC to win over the Sainsbury family which holds an 18 per cent stake.

The move follows the failure of CVC to win over the Sainsbury family which holds an 18 per cent stake

The private equity firm had proposed 582p a share, equivalent to £10.1 billion, but the Sainsbury family reportedly believed the business to be worth at least 600p a share.

CVC said: "After a number of discussions between the board of Sainsbury and the consortium, it became clear that the consortium would be unable to make a proposal that would result in a successful offer."

CVC's partners in the bid, Blackstone and Texas Pacific, pulled out of the deal this week, while a fourth, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, withdrew last week.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.