Fortress Investment Group, owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, is the frontrunner in a bidding war for 200 stores owned by Majestic Wine PLC (LON:WINE).
According to a Sky News report, US-based Fortress had also approached wine retailing bigwig and former Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) executive Dan Jago about running Majestic’s network of stores after they are acquired in a sale that is expected to fetch around £100mln.
READ: Majestic Wine leaves bitter taste with unexpected chairman resignation, swing to full year loss
Fortress has been competing with other potential suitors, including activist investor and Waterstone’s owner Elliott Advisors, to pick up the entire estate of AIM 100 Majestic, which confirmed that it was considering a sale of its retail business back in May as it looked to shift focus to Naked Wines – its online wine club-cum-crowdfunding platform - while also changing its official name to that of its online platform.
The move follows a desire from Majestic’s bosses to move away from the high street, which has been pressured in recent years by a cocktail of rising rents and declining customer footfall.
In early afternoon trading on Tuesday, Majestic’s shares were 2% higher at 262p.