Sainsbury Declines Comment On Qatari Bid Rumours - FOXBusiness.com

J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) Wednesday declined to comment on speculation that minority shareholder Qatar Investment Authority, or QIA, is preparing a bid of around 500 pence a share for the U.K. supermarket group.

"We do not comment on rumour and speculation," a spokesman for the grocer said. The QIA was immediately unavailable for comment.

Royal Bank of Scotland analysts downplayed the speculation. "Who knows (apart from the QIA and its advisers) is the real answer. This speculation seems to come every three to six months. It moves the share price up 5% and then over the next few days when no bid materializes, the shares come off again," analyst Justin Scarborough said.