Is it just me, or was there a major whiff of Groundhog Day this week? Tesco finds itself involved in an extortion racket, I mean price war... and then there was the bomb hoax (bdum bdum... tsk). But surely the greatest sense of déjà vu came with the news of Delta Two's preliminary £10.6bn bid for Sainsbury's. To all intents and purposes the offer appears identical to the previous 600p a share offer. As does the reaction of the Sainsbury's family, who once again seem reluctant to play ball (despite previously intimating they would be ready to talk if six quid were offered). And who's that hovering in the wings? Ah yes, Robbie Tchenguiz, who currently controls about 10% of the supermarket and who Paul Taylor, the man heading the fund, used to work for - though Delta maintains there's no relationship. The crucial difference this time around is that a takeover now looks inevitable. The Sainsbury's family may be retail royalty but the Qataris are the real deal and have squillions to play with, not to mention a 25% stake in the business already - though they may have to rethink the debt involved if they are to avoid intervention from the regulators.

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