Sainsbury’s hopes of grabbing Home Retail Group (HRG), owner of Argos, have been hit by a last-minute £1.4billion bid tabled by a South African stores conglomerate.
Steinhoff, which is 17 per cent owned by South African retail billionaire Christo Wiese, (pictured) has approached HRG with a cash offer believed to be worth 175p a share – a total of £1.4billion – which is well above Sainsbury’s 160p mixture of cash and shares.
One source familiar with Wiese and Steinhoff’s business strategy said: ‘Argos is a hell of a challenge. But Christo is in that mode and if he’s bidding cash for it, he’s going to get it.’