Private equity companies are circling British supermarket group Sainsbury’s with a view to possibly launching bids of more than $9.53bn, The Sunday Times reported.

American buyout giant Apollo is said to be running the rule over the supermarket group, the newspaper reported.

It remains in talks to join the Fortress-led consortium bidding for Morrisons and any involvement in that deal may preclude a move for Sainsbury’s, the report said, adding Apollo’s interest in Sainsbury’s is exploratory.

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British supermarket group Morrisons said on Thursday its board would unanimously recommend U.S. private equity group CD&R’s 285 pence a share offer worth 7 billion pounds and drop its previous recommendation for a 6.7 billion pound bid from a consortium led by SoftBank owned Fortress.

Source: US News Today

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