Could Sainsbury’s Be the New Owner of Argos?

In a sudden turn of events it emerged recently that Steinhoff,  – a South African company that was interested in purchasing Argos – has decided that it will not make a formal approach to buy the retail giant as it pulled out of the proceedings just 2 hours before a deadline to make a bid against Sainsbury’s.

This means that Sainsbury’s bid of £1.4 billion to purchase Home Retail Group (the parent company of Argos) is the only one at the moment and they are currently free to buy Argos for this amount.

If the sale goes ahead it could mean that we will see some Argos stores closing as Sainsbury’s plan to open Argos concessions within their own stores, saving an estimated £160 million each year.

It is however important to note that this isn’t a “done deal” and Sainsbury’s have just as much scope to change their mind as any other company has to come foward and bid. Only time will tell…