Baugur approaches Somerfield with takeover bid
If successful, Baugur will have a combined share of about 7.6 per cent of the UK grocery market.
10/02/05 Somerfield, Scotland’s fifth-biggest supermarket group, has got a £1.03 billion bid approach from acquisitive Icelandic investor Baugur - sending the British company’s shares up nearly 14 per cent to 184.5p.
Somerfield, which recently bought 57 Scottish stores from Morrison/Safeway, said the 190p per share approach was subject to conditions including successful due diligence, funding and agreement with the pension scheme trustees.
Baugur has been particularly active recently, making an agreed £326 million cash takeover of Big Food Group with its Iceland supermarket and Booker wholesale chains.
Somerfield, whose market share in Scotland has increased over the past year from 4.3 to 6 per cent, said the approach envisaged the current management continuing to run the business. It said: "The board is investigating this approach."
If Baugur is successful with the Somerfield buyout, it will have a combined share of about 7.6 per cent of the UK grocery market.
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=154032005
