Qataris cancel Sainsbury takeover bid

LONDON: Qatari investment fund Delta Two on Monday terminated a takeover bid for British supermarket group J Sainsbury worth 10.6 billion pounds (15.7 billion euros, $21.7 billion).

"Delta Two has concluded that it is not in the best interests of stakeholders to proceed with an offer for Sainsbury and has informed the board of Sainsbury of this decision," the group said in an official statement.

The Qatari fund cited factors including the poor state of global credit markets and a wrangle over the funding of pensions at J Sainsbury. Delta Two had proposed its takeover bid for Britain's third-biggest supermarket operator last July. This week, however, it faced a Thursday deadline to declare a formal offer.

"Since Delta Two's original proposal was submitted to the board of Sainsbury, the required funding and cost of capital has increased significantly, which has adversely affected the investment case," Delta Two added.

In a separate statement, J Sainsbury noted that Delta Two had decided not to proceed with an offer.