Any offer from the Apax consortium, led by Iranian property tycoon RobertTchenguiz, must be made by 14 October, the date set by a takeover panelfor any formal offers.

However, one report said that while the consortium was planning to make abid, it was likely to make an offer below the previously indicated price of£1.1bn due to the deficit of around £112.3 million in Somerfield's finalsalary pension scheme.

This week's deadline will bring to a close months of speculation andintrigue. There has been a huge amount of interest in the company, whichalso owns the Kwik-Save chain.

Earlier in the year for example, owners of London & Regional Properties, Ianand Richard Livingstone along with Japanese bank Nomura made an offer, asdid retail group Bauger, which has already completed a number of deals onthe British high street.

However, the terms of these offers were deemed unsuitable by theBristol-based chain, which also turned down a £1 billion offer fromIceland-based Bauger.

At one point United Co-operatives and Asda were rumoured to be exploring thepossibility of joining the takeover race, in a bid to increase their marketshare.

And in 2003 Somerfield turned down an £594 million offer from retailentrepreneurs John Lovering and Bob Mackenzie.