Investing.com — Sainsbury (LON:) shares fell on Friday after the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), its largest shareholder, was selling £306 million worth of shares, according to regulatory filings, Reuters reported on Friday.
At 4:27 am (0827 GMT), Sainsbury was trading 4.7% lower at £274.40.
The filings show that QIA offered 109.4 million shares at 280 pence each, representing around 5% of its stake. Before the sale, QIA held a 14.2% share in Sainsbury’s, the report said.
Sainsbury’s holds more than 15% of the UK grocery market, ranking just behind Tesco (OTC:). Monthly industry data shows strong performance.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has been a shareholder in Sainsbury’s since 2007, when its ownership peaked at 25%. It later abandoned a potential acquisition and began reducing its stake in 2021.
In addition to Sainsbury’s, QIA also holds prominent investments in the UK, including a stake in Barclays Bank (NYSE:) and ownership of the London department store Harrods, the report said.