Bestway has bought almost 81m shares in Sainsbury’s, giving it a 3.45% stake in the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain.
The wholesaler said it bought the shares for investment purposes and may look to buy more “from time to time”. It added that it “looks forward to supporting the executive management team”.
Bestway also said it is not considering making a takeover bid for Sainsbury’s.
In response, Sainsbury’s said: “We will engage with Bestway Group in line with our normal interactions with shareholders.”
Maureen Hinton, an independent retail analyst, tweeted that Bestway’s stake could give it leverage in potential negotiations over the future of pharmacy outlets in Sainsbury’s after the supermarket chain’s current partner Lloyds announced plans to close all 237 outlets.
Shares in Sainsbury’s rose 4.5% on Friday (27 January) to 250p.
