The quiet chief who set off a firework

Sainsbury's Mike Coupe will be taking on John Combe

Sainsbury's Mike Coupe will be taking on John Combe (Reuters)

Well, they say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. Mike Coupe, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, has the bearing more of a scholarly accountant than a blockbusting deal maker.

Aside from a skirmish in Egypt on pretty much his first week in office, where he was bizarrely sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for embezzlement (the absurd claim was overthrown last summer), his tenure has been notably short of fireworks.

He was, indeed, the antithesis of his showman predecessor Justin King, who he succeeded in July 2014. So that he has even considered the boldest corporate action by Sainsbury’s since – well, its disposal of Homebase for £1bn in 2000 – is an extraordinary surprise. Particularly as, once rebuffed, he now looks set to come back with his fists up.

In the Home Retail corner, he will have to overcome chairman John Coombe and chief executive John Walden, who are both clearly holding out for more cash. Mr Coombe, a GlaxoSmithKline veteran, knows his way around mergers, having served on the Takeover Panel. He has been chairman since 2012, meaning it was his decision to promote Mr Walden to the top job two years ago. The chief executive, an American with five sons, is a regular sight on the shop floor and negotiated the Argos concession deal with Sainsbury’s that seems to have triggered the takeover offer. Let battle commence.