EVOLVING

The Co-op Group is in exclusive talks to buy convenience store operator Nisa, entering the fray days after larger food retailing rival Sainsbury’s suspended its own bid talks for the company.

The Co-op is thought to have tabled a £140 million bid for Nisa, whose 1,300 shopkeeper members run 3,000 stores.

“We can confirm that we’ve entered into a period of exclusivity with Nisa, which will provide the opportunity for us to carry out more detailed due diligence in the coming weeks.

“Following this period and subject to approval from our board, we hope to be in a position where we can put forward an offer to Nisa members,” the Co-op said in a statement yesterday.

Britain’s biggest retailers have set their sights on operators within the wholesale and convenience store market after Tesco made an agreed £3.7 billion takeover bid for Booker earlier this year.

Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second biggest supermarket giant, had been seen to be under pressure to respond to its bigger rival’s move on Booker.

0 Nisa says it will consider all ‘serious queries and offers’ for the group

PETER HARTLEY

However, on 15 August, Sainsbury’s said it had suspended the talks with Nisa until the Competition and Markets Authority gave its verdict on the Tesco-booker deal.

Details of the Co-op talks were also shared with Nisa shareholders by the convenience store group’s chairman, Peter Hartley.

He said in a letter: “The board of Nisa has held a number of positive discussions with the Co-op in recent weeks, following its reaffirmation of interest in making an offer for your company.

“Your board has granted the Co-op a period of exclusive due diligence from today.

“Thereafter, and subject to the results of the due diligence, it is anticipated that the Co-op could be in a position to make a final offer to the members for your consideration.

“Should an offer of merit emerge from this process, it will be for you, the members, to decide on whether to accept it.”

However, Nisa is not shutting

“The convenience sector continues to evolve at pace and the board of Nisa will continue to review serious queries and offers which emerge”