UK - Trustees of the J Sainsbury pension scheme are expected to meet executives of Delta Two this week, in the hope of reaching an agreement concerning the potential takeover of the supermarket chain.

Sources close to the pension fund say trustees expect to see proposals about the possible acquisition of the firm laid out by the Qatari investment company this week, but no additional funding levels for the pension have yet been specified.

Pension fund trustees played an instrumental role earlier this year in a decision on whether to accept a takeover bid for Sainsbury's by private equity consortium CVC. It is believed pensions trustees at that time demanded an additional £1bn (€1.43bn) be injected into the fund following any acquisition.

Those takeover talks subsequently collapsed, and J Sainsbury trustees are now expecting
to find out what Delta Two is prepared to do to support the pension fund ongoing, now the company has opened its books.

Officials say a quick decision is unlikely to be made by representatives of the pension fund.

Parent group J Sainsbury reported earlier this year the pension fund's deficit reduced to £55m in the 2006 financial year ending March 24 2007, following a £240m cash injection in 2006 along with other reforms to the schemes.