SAINSBURY'S TAKING CONTROL OF SHAW'S SUPERMARKETS
  J Sainsbury Plc&lt;SNB.L> said it agreed to
  take control of the U.S. Shaw's Supermarkets Inc through a
  combination of share purchases and a tender offer at 30 dlrs a
  share.
      Sainsbury bought about 21 pct of the stock in 1983. It said
  its U.S. Subsidiary, Chene Investments Inc, bought 2.55 mln
  common shares from the controlling Davis family yesterday at 30
  dlrs a share for 76.5 mln dlrs, lifting its stake to 49.4 pct.
      A tender offer for the outstanding shares will be launched,
  also at 30 dlrs a share for a maximum further cost of 184.4
  mln.
      The Shaw's Board and the Davis family has agreed to accept
  the offer, thus assuring Sainsbury's a total holding of 74.0
  pct.
      The company had allotted 20.18 mln new ordinary shares to
  &lt;Warburg Securities Ltd> which it said would be sufficient to
  finance about 188 mln dlrs of the maximum 261 mln dlrs payable.
      Shaw's operates a chain of 49 supermarkets in
  Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire which in 1986 produced
  sales of 1.1 billiob dlrs and pretax profit of 31.1 mln. At the
  end of 1986 it had net assets of 88 mln dlrs.
      Last September, Sainsbury's increased its stake in Shaw's
  to 28.5 pct. In the year to March 21, it reported a rise in
  pretax profit to 246.9 mln stg from 192.7 mln on sales that
  increased to 4.04 billion from 3.58 billion.
      Sainsbury shares had fallen five pence before the
  announcement to 590p from last night's close but were unmoved
  by news of the deal.
  

