Sainsbury launches £400m convertible bond

14th Nov 2014 08:04

UK 'Big Four' grocery chain J Sainsbury on Friday launched an offering of £400m convertible bonds due in 2019.The company said that the proceeds would be used partly to refinance its £190m convertible bonds redeemed in July 2014 and to part-fund the £248m deal to take full ownership of Sainsbury's Bank.The company acquired Lloyds' 50% stake in Sainsbury's Bank with the deal completing in January.The supermarket unveiled its interim results earlier in the week, beating expectations with only a 6.3% fall in underlying profits in the first half.However, the market's focus was firmly on the outcome of the company's strategic review, as it announced a £150m investment in price cuts and improve the quality of its 3,000 own-brand products.