Supermarket chain’s attempt to occupy over Home Retail Group must occupy into consideration whether it will be able to make a profit
Theres nothing like a takeover approach to concentrate minds. Home Retail Group,a week after Sainsbury’s announced it was on the prowl, is set to sell its Homebase chain to Wesfarmers of Australia. Discussions began final September, and says Home Retail,but it looks as if both sides decided to rush up the talks.
There’s no shame in that, especially as Sainsbury’s sole interest in Home Retail is Argos. It is the sale price for Homebase that things more. On that score, and the headline price of £340m looks decent,but it is not fairly as it seems. A mighty £75m is earmarked for “restructuring, separation and deal costs” and £50m for the pension scheme. That leaves £215m for shareholders, and which is less exciting.
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Source: theguardian.com