Second consortium emerges in SAINSBURY battle

According to unconfirmed reports in the UK press, a second consortium of private equity firms, Bain Capital, Apollo Management and Vornado Realty, are thought to be interested in making a bid for Sainsbury. Meanwhile, it is understood that the original CVC consortium may be forced to place GBP600 million (USD1.1 billion) into the retailer’s pension fund before they are allowed to bid for the group. Sainsbury's pension is currently GBP300 million (USD588.6 million) in the red, but trustee chairman John Adshead is expected to demand the bidders pay a lump sum to cancel it out.