The chief executive of UK supermarket chain The
“We are in discussions with Somerfield, we’re very interested in buying the business. It makes financial sense and operational sense, it’s a great strategic fit for us,” CEO Peter Marks said before cautioning that talks were at an early-stage and completion of the deal was by no means a certainty.
Somerfield’s pricetag is not known but rumour suggests it is between £1.6bn and £1.7bn (US$3.2bn to US$3.3bn). The suggested figures are significantly below reported vendor expectations of £2bn to £2.5bn (US$3.9bn to US$4.9bn) at the beginning of the sale process.
According to reports, Co-op has lined up Lloyds TSB, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland to provided debt to support the acquisition.
Somerfield was delisted by the current owners from the London Stock Exchange for £1.1bn (US$2bn) in 2005.