Baugur shelves cash-and-carry sale

NORDIC investor Baugur has dropped plans to sell cash-and-carry chain Booker if the company secures control of Big Food Group, according to insiders.

Baugur said last month it was weighing up a 110p-a-share bid for BFG that would value the company at nearly £380 million.

Financial Mail revealed that most of the 750 outlets in BFG's High Street Iceland chain would be sold to the operation's former chairman Malcolm Walker. And industry observers predicted that Booker - the other main part of BFG - would go to a venture capitalist. But sources close to Baugur now say that chief executive Jon Asgeir Johannesson has decided to keep Booker if the takeover goes through.

Baugur still hopes that Walker will take over Iceland.

BFG is due to give a trading update on Wednesday. Figures released by BFG last month showed Booker sales running 4.1% down on a year earlier. The fall for Iceland was put at 3.8%. Baugur already owns 22% of BFG, whose shares were 95 1/4p last week, well below the 110p Baugur has indicated it might offer.

Baugur is thought to have finished the first phase of 'due diligence', the scrutinising of BFG's books.