Robert Tchenguiz family and Baugur make a pact to court supermarket chain together
Baugur has entered into a consortium with the Tchenguiz family, Apax Partners and Barclays Capital to investigate the viability of a bid for Somerfield. The consortium said it was in discussions with the retailer about a cash offer for the company.

It said: 'We believe that the members of the consortium provide considerable operational and financial skills together with substantial experience in the sector. [It] is well placed to put forward a proposal which we believe the board of Somerfield will find attractive both in terms of value and deliverability, following, inter alia, completion of a due diligence exercise.'

Analyst Seymour Pierce notes that although the creation of the consortium may have reduced the number of potentially interested parties circling the retailer, there are still a number of remaining possible bidders.

Seymour Pierce Analyst Rhys Williams said: 'So two of the potential bidders in Tchenguiz and Baugur have joined forces. This is probably due to lacking the ability to fund the deal on their own and also eliminates a potential competitor. Whilst this spooked the market initially, with the Livingstone Brothers and possibly also Topland still in the fight, there is a good chance we will have an auction.'

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