Is Sainsbury's on the verge of being taken over?
The share price of UK supermarket store Sainsbury's rose by 20% this morning amid speculation that majority shareholder Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) could be on the verge of adding to its 26% stake in the operation. The company has in the recent past attempted a full takeover of the company with a £10 billion offer two years ago which unfortunately for the QIA was unsuccessful.
However, over the last two years there has been a significant turnaround in the fortunes of Sainsbury's which has returned to the premier league of the UK supermarket sector under new management and a forward-looking chief executive. There is even been speculation in the market that the company has received a takeover approach over the last few days but no confirmation has yet been received and we are unlikely to hear anything via official channels for the time being.
Slowly but surely we are seeing takeover and merger interest return to the UK market giving some investors hope that the economy has bottomed out and indeed there is value in certain areas. Whether this is the case or not remains to be seen because a number of analysts are still very sceptical about the prospects for 2010.
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