Marks & Spencer circled by Qatar-led consortium

Greg Gille
18 March 2013

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Iconic British retailer Marks & Spencer could be the target of an ТЃ8bn takeover by a Qatar Investment Authority-led consortium, which could also include private equity players such as CVC, according to reports.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, is believed to have approached several private equity players and banks to back up its planned bid, the Sunday Times reported. CVC is reportedly among the investors approached by QIA – the buyout house had already been rumoured to be eyeing Marks & Spencer (M&S) last summer, before backing off as public scrutiny increased.

QIA already bought high-profile retailer Harrods three years ago for around £1.5bn. If successful, the bid for M&S would result in the largest private equity-backed buyout in the UK since the £11bn Alliance Boots takeover in 2007.

M&S's share price unsurprisingly rallied after news of the planned takeover broke out. Shares were trading at 400p today, up from 359p last Wednesday.

M&S has been deemed vulnerable to takeover bids for some time now, following a gruelling Christmas period, when like-for-like sales dropped by 1.8%. The company's share price had been steadily declining since mid-February, when it was trading at around 390p.