Superquinn has issued a statement denying it is for sale and dismissing as completely unfounded media speculation suggesting it could be a takeover target for the new owners of the Safeway chain.
Newspaper reports this morning said a major report by a British consultancy had concluded that Feargal Quinn's supermarkets could become a takeover target for the new owners of Safeway.
The buyer of the British group would own 12 stores in Northern Ireland and through the purchase of Superquinn it could gain a strong all-Ireland presence.
The report, by consultancy firm Insight, suggested Superquinn was facing difficulties despite opening two new stores in the past two years. "It did not gain market share and may have slipped a little," the consultant's report is quoted as saying.
But Mr Eamonn Quinn, the deputy chairman of the company, said today: "We told the Irish Independent yesterday that as Superquinn is a private company the issue of a takeover bid did not arise as all the shares are held by the Quinn family.
"While agreeing that theoretically any company could make an offer for Superquinn," he continued "we made it clear that such an offer would be rejected.
"However, the story suggests that we are interested in receiving bids. That is not the case. Superquinn is firmly committed to remaining a family owned Irish business and any offers made to the company would be rejected," Mr Quinn said.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/2693e910-3117-4a22-aacf-74cecf13edc4.png)