US firms Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Shearman & Sterling have secured major UK mandates on the £12bn bid for Sainsbury’s by a Qatari investment group.

Skadden is advising Delta Two on its approach for the supermarket giant, which comes just months after Sainsbury’s fought off an approach from a private equity consortium, comprising CVC Capital, Blackstone and Texas Pacific Group.