SSSB awaits Castorama court ruling

SCHRODER Salomon Smith Barney could be dropped as the independent expert in Kingfisher's battle for French retailer Castorama following a Paris court's decision today.

Kingfisher said the ruling required Castorama to nominate three banks it would accept for the role. The court will then choose one of these - which all have to be accepted by Kingfisher - or SSSB to assess the offer.

The successful bank will be commissioned to consider the fairness of Kingfisher's £3.2bn offer to buy the 45% of Castorama it does not already own. Castorama has objected to SSSB filling the role on the grounds that it has a conflict of interest because it acted for catering group Compass, chaired by Kingfisher chairman Francis Mackay.

The increasing hostility surrounding the offer was highlighted earlier this week by Castorama's decision to release its quarterly figures without informing Kingfisher.