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Article: Sainsbury must now justify the revaluation which the private equity bid has sparked ; OUTLOOK
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- April 12, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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So that's it then. The bid that sparked a furious public debate
over the merits of private equity ownership has, after months of to-
ing and fro-ing, finally collapsed. In the end, the assailants
didn't even manage to get past first base. From start to finish,
this has turned out in every respect to be a completely phoney bid
battle.
In tilting at J Sainsbury, the bidding consortium bent over
backwards to appear the acceptable face of private equity. The
bidders promised to hold true to Sainsbury's social and customer
values, to invest heavily in the business and, contrary to the
general view that private equity costs workers their jobs and
conditions, to create more employment and a better ...