Potential bidders for the supermarket group Somerfield, John Lovering and Bob Mackenzie, could make an all cash offer of around 100p a share this week to value the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket chain at about £500m, according to The Business.
The paper also said that Lovering has asked Richard Gibbs and Ron Kirk, former owners of the Alldays chain now owned by the Co-op, to form a management team to run Somerfield if the bid is successful.

Somerfield has undervalued its property portfolio by up to £1bn, according to The Observer.
In 1996, Somerfield’s 1,300 stores including the Kwik SAve fascia were valued at £542. But property experts told the paper that the combined value of freehold and long-leasehold stores at today's values was closer to £1.41bn.
Analysts at ABN Amro told the newspaper that Somerfield’s estate could attract a share price offer of 200p from predators in the light of such a significant undervaluation.

According to the Mail on Sunday, a successful bid by John Lovering could see a merger of Somerfield with the Big Food Group’s frozen food stores Iceland to create a dominant force in UK discount food retailing.

The consortium bidding for Somerfield has been warned by the Takeover Panel against using briefings to inform the press about its offer, according to the Sunday Express.
Last week Lovering’s intentions to sell some of Somerfield’s stores to Sainsbury emerged and the the panel is said to be furious about the leaks. Bidders must not release market sensitive information unless is it is in the form of an official stock exchange announcement.

The board of Somerfield will this week quiz chief executive John von Spreckelsen about his purchase of 100,000 shares shares in the company in the days leading upto a proposal for a takeover of the company. The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Financial Services Authority is said to be examining the share purchase.


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