Superquinn, the privately-owned Irish supermarket chain, has received several unsolicited approaches. The retailer has hired Goldman Sachs to carry out a review of the business.
Interested parties are thought to include major UK supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose; the latter is reported as being the most likely candidate as the retailers share a high end market position, and the store environments feel similar.
Competition rules would most likely prevent Tesco, the UK's largest retailer, from acquiring Superquinn as it is already the second-biggest operator in the Irish grocery market.
It is thought that the chain could sell for around €450m. Superquinn's annual turnover is about €620m.
Superquinn was established by Feargal Quinn in 1960. The company was sold in 2005 to Irish consortium Select Retail Holdings. Quinn remains non-executive president of the chain.
Superquinn operates 20 full service supermarkets and three convenience stores. The chain is renowned for being at the forefront of retail technology and was amongst the first in the world to introduce self-scanning.
The ongoing credit crunch is a dark cloud hanging over the sale, with consumers in Ireland starting to increasingly frequent the cut-price stores as they are doing in England. The consortium may be forced to hang on to the retailer for a little longer than hoped for - either that or significantly drop the price.
