Delta Two, the Qatari-backed vehicle, could be forced to pay up more than £1bn of additional equity for Sainsbury’s if it is to win boardroom backing for its £10.4bn takeover bid. The Observer. Sunday Telegraph. Sunday Times. The Independent on Sunday.

Sainsbury’s board is concerned that Delta Two’s plan to fund the deal using just £3.1bn of ‘real equity’ will leave the company too highly leveraged and impede its ability to grow.

At the same time, the Office of Fair Trading has made a dramatic intervention in the battle for control of the supermarket group. The OFT has warned that a highly leveraged Delta bid could weaken Sainsbury, thereby reducing competition in the supermarket sector. The OFT is unlikely to act unless Delta’s bid, with £6bn of debt, succeeds.