Marks & Spencer on the radar of investment group Apollo

The investment group Apollo Global Management is considering taking over department store chain Marks & Spencer. According to Apollo, the struggling British chain would be a bargain that is currently undervalued.

A fan of Ocado

Apollo, an investment group, is possibly considering a takeover of British retailer Marks & Spencer. According to Apollo, the chain has been struggling for years, mainly due to declining non-food sales, but is being punished too severely on the stock market. Specifically, the joint venture that M&S runs with Ocado is undervalued, according to Bloomberg.

Ocado is a specialist in online shopping, ensuring fast and efficient delivery of food ordered online with the help of fully automated warehouses. Ocado also supplies its technology to other retailers, including the American supermarket chain Kroger.

Fourth attempt

Apollo has been a fan of Ocado for some time: the investor bought half of all shares for 750 million pounds in 2019. Now parent company Marks & Spencer also seems to be on the radar. Apollo describes the company as a bargain. Just because of the rumours in the British Sunday newspaper, the stock market valuation of M&S has shot up, which may make the chain less attractive. 

In any case, Apollo is on a takeover quest. Earlier, the investor tried to take over the British supermarket chain Asda, but rival investment company TDR eventually went for it, in conjunction with the Issa family. Talks about taking over the Morrisons supermarket chain also came to nothing. Apollo is even said to have considered a bid on Sainsbury’s recently.