J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) has announced the appointment of City grandee Martin Scicluna as its non-executive chairman, succeeding long-serving David Tyler, as the retailer tries to steer through a £15bn merger with Wal-Mart Inc (NYSE:WMT) owned Asda.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said Scicluna, who is chairman of RSA Insurance PLC (LON:RSA), will join as chairman-designate on 1 November 2018 and it anticipates that he will assume the role of chairman from the beginning of the new financial year in March 2019, or soon after, when Tyler steps down from the board having served nearly nine years as chairman.
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Scicluna commented: "Mike Coupe and his management team have positioned the business for a successful future of delivering significant value for shareholders, customers and other stakeholders. I am looking forward to working with Mike and his team and my new Board colleagues."
Sainsbury, which holds its annual general meeting today in London, confirmed the move to create Britain’s biggest food retailer in April, and the Competition and Markets Authority launched an in-depth inquiry into the merger with Asda last month.
The appointment of Scicluna, who also chairs the property company Great Portland Estates (LON:GPOR), is likely to be welcomed by investors, some of whom have expressed scepticism about the proposed merger, according to a Sky News report which trailed the new appointment.