Finance
Shares in Sainsbury’s Jump to Seven-Year High on Report of Buyer Interest
Published by maria gbaf
Posted on August 23, 2021
2 min readLast updated: February 15, 2026
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Sainsbury's Shares Surge to Seven-Year High Amid Buyer Interest
(Reuters) -Shares in Sainsbury’s jumped as much as 13% to a more than seven-year high on Monday after a report said private equity firms could launch bids worth more than 7 billion pounds ($9.6 billion) for Britain’s second-largest supermarket.
Private equity firms, including New York-based Apollo Global Management, were circling Sainsbury’s, the Sunday Times newspaper reported https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bidders-train-guns-on-sainsburys-sh8228nst.
The report comes as Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest grocer, is the subject of the most high-profile deal in Britain. Takeovers of British firms, led by U.S. firms, have hit a 14-year high by value in the first seven months of 2021.
The Sunday Times said Apollo’s interest in Sainsbury’s was exploratory and the private equity firm remained in talks to join the Fortress-led consortium bidding for Morrisons.
“If Apollo does not participate in Morrisons’ future then we cannot discount that the PE group nor other mega-finance houses will consider looking at Sainsbury,” Shore Capital analysts said, adding that Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky retained a roughly 10% stake in the company.
Sainsbury’s, with a market value of around 6.87 billion pounds, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qatar sovereign fund is the London-based company’s largest shareholder, with almost 15% of Sainsbury’s voting rights.
Last week, Morrisons said its was backing CD&R’s 7 billion pound offer and dropped its previous recommendation for a 6.7 billion pound bid from a consortium led by SoftBank-owned Fortress Investment Group .
Shares in Morrisons were flat on Monday at 291 pence, above the level of the agreed proposal from CD&R indicating investors are expecting a counter bid from Fortress.
Last year, Apollo lost out on buying Asda, UK’s No. 3 grocer, to brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and TDR Capital. That deal https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/apollo-global-management-considering-offer-britains-morrisons-2021-07-05 valued Asda at 6.8 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7327 pounds)
(Reporting by Aditi Sebastian and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Frequently Asked Questions about Shares in Sainsbury’s jump to seven-year high on report of buyer interest
1What caused Sainsbury's shares to jump?
Shares in Sainsbury's jumped as much as 13% after a report indicated that private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management, were considering bids for the company.
2Who is the largest shareholder of Sainsbury's?
The largest shareholder of Sainsbury's is the Qatar sovereign fund, which holds almost 15% of the company's voting rights.
3What is the market value of Sainsbury's?
Sainsbury's has a market value of around 6.87 billion pounds.
4What is the current status of the Morrisons acquisition?
Morrisons is backing a 7 billion pound offer from CD&R and has dropped its previous recommendation for a lower bid from a consortium led by Fortress.
5What previous acquisition did Apollo Global Management attempt?
Last year, Apollo lost out on acquiring Asda, the UK's No. 3 grocer, to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.
