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| Sainsbury's takeover bid dropped | Sainsbury's takeover bid dropped |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A Qatari-backed investment fund has abandoned its takeover bid for supermarket chain Sainsbury's. | A Qatari-backed investment fund has abandoned its takeover bid for supermarket chain Sainsbury's. |
| Delta Two, which approached the UK firm in July with the offer, said it was withdrawing the bid because of turmoil in global credit markets. | Delta Two, which approached the UK firm in July with the offer, said it was withdrawing the bid because of turmoil in global credit markets. |
| It also said concerns about funding Sainsbury's employee pension schemes had led to the move. | It also said concerns about funding Sainsbury's employee pension schemes had led to the move. |
| Sainsbury's, which had yet to back the offer, said its future business prospects remained "attractive". | Sainsbury's, which had yet to back the offer, said its future business prospects remained "attractive". |
| 'Regret' | |
| Speculation had grown in recent weeks that the Delta Two bid, backed by the foreign investment arm of the gulf state Qatar, was in trouble. | |
| The UK Takeover Panel had given Delta Two until Thursday to decide whether or not to press ahead with the bid. | |
| Interest in Sainsbury's has been borne out of the company's success to date in implementing its recovery strategy Justin King, Sainsbury's chief executive | |
| There were worries about how the bid, worth about £10.6bn, would be funded, with Delta Two being urged by some Sainsbury's shareholders to stump up more cash. | |
| In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Delta Two said its decision to pull out was due to concerns about the "deterioration of credit markets" and "arrangements for the future funding" of the firm's pension commitments. | |
| "Delta Two has regrettably concluded that a recommendation to proceed with the proposed transaction would not be in the best interest of stakeholders," said Paul Taylor, who was heading up the proposed bid. | |
| Sainsbury's said the decision removed uncertainty surrounding the business ahead of the crucial Christmas period. | |
| "Interest in Sainsbury's has been borne out of the company's success to date in implementing its recovery strategy," said chief executive Justin King. | |
| "We have remained focused on delivering great service to customers over recent weeks and months." |