J Sainsbury is being asked to fork out an extra £100 million to take control of the owner of Argos and Homebase.
The supermarket group has been speaking to Home Retail’s leading shareholders as tomorrow’s deadline approaches, and has been told by the company’s largest investor that the offer must rise to at least 160p, or £1.3 billion. Sainsbury’s is believed to have indicated that it did not want to go over 150p. Schroders, which owns about 20 per cent of Home Retail, is believed to be willing to accept 165p although it declined to comment.
Shares in Home Retail Group fell sharply on Friday amid reports that the talks had stalled. Schroders and Toscafund, another big shareholder, are said to have pushed Home Retail