Delta Two, the Qatari investment vehicle hoping to acquire grocery group Sainsbury's, has been ordered by the Takeover Panel to announce a firm intention to make an offer by November 8.
If Delta Two does not make an offer by 5pm that day, it will be prevented from making a similar approach for six months.
Delta Two said this morning that it is seeking increased funding of about£500 million of additional equity for the proposed acquisition of Sainsbury’s, at an offer price of 600p a share.
Sainsbury’s said: “There can be no certainty that such funding will be forthcoming and, therefore, no certainty that an offer will be made.”
Delta Two first revealed its interest in acquiring Sainsbury’s in July, but since then the global credit crunch has raised fears that the structure of its proposed offer contained too much debt.
If the proposed deal between Delta Two and Sainsbury’s collapses, City analysts expect the share price of Sainsbury’s to suffer a sharp fall.
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