The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) opened higher on Tuesday morning in London, following a day of gains fuelled by rumours in the market that grocer Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) could be the latest private equity takeover target.
Sainsbury’s had closed 15.4% higher on Monday — a 45.3 pence per share premium on Friday’s closing price. Investors rushed to buy following reports in the Sunday Times that Apollo (APO) had considered it as a potential option to buy.
The interest from Apollo is understood to be exploratory, according to the report.
Apollo declined to comment on the rumours, as did Sainsbury’s.
Market watchers were sceptical of the report, with analysts at Shore Capital calling it “shallow” and “sensationalist”.
Britain’s second largest supermarket chain opened 2% lower on Tuesday in London as the session kicked off as buying cooled off.
Over the last year there has been a flurry of private equity firms moving to take UK companies private, with…
