Lord David Sainsbury is understood to oppose supermarket group J Sainsbury opening its books at the takeover price offered by a CVC-led private equity consortium.
The bid, tabled yesterday afternoon, is believed to offer an indicative price of 550p to 570p per share. It could face problems as the Sainsbury family, who together control about 18 per cent of the company, are thought to support Lord Sainsbury's opposition to opening the books for less than 600p per share.
The consortium, now consisting of CVC, Blackstone and Texas Pacific Group, tabled the offer just hours after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) pulled out of its bid due to concerns about the price, competition issues, the pension fund trustees and the Sainsbury family's reservations about the bid.
But sources close to Lord Sainsbury, who has a 7.75 per cent shareholding, say that he has told the board that he does not see why the company would open the books for less than 600p a share.
The family's reticence could prove a headache for chairman Philip Hampton, if his other shareholders are willing to open the books at the indicative price.
KKR walked away from Sainsbury's partly due to concerns that the bid price was too high. An offer of 570p would be beyond its comfort zone. It is also thought to have left because of concerns over possible competition issues.
The US-based private equity firm is bidding for Alliance Boots, having put forward a £10.40 a share offer for the drugs wholesaler and retailing group.
KKR was worried that doing both deals could have competition implications, given that Sainsbury's and Alliance Boots have a 34 per cent share of the health and beauty market between them. Both deals could get referred to competition regulators, a process that can take months to resolve.
