SBRY Sainsbury (j) Plc

(Updates with details on Asda merger, Mr. Scicluna's experience.)

By Oliver Griffin and Maryam Cockar

J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) said Wednesday that it has appointed Martin Scicluna as its new nonexecutive chairman to replace Chairman David Tyler, as the U.K. supermarket looks to merge with Asda Group Ltd. (AGP.YY).

Sainsbury said Mr. Scicluna will join its board as chairman-designate and as a nonexecutive director from Nov. 1. He will work closely with Mr. Tyler for a handover period and Sainsbury said it expects him to take over as chairman from the beginning of the new financial year in March 2019.

Mr. Scicluna is joining Sainsbury as the grocer seeks regulatory clearance for its proposed merger with rival Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Walmart Inc. (WMT).

In April, Sainsbury said it would buy Asda in a deal worth 7.3 billion pounds ($9.7 billion). The combined business will be chaired by Sainsbury's chairman and led by Sainsbury Chief Executive Mike Coupe and Chief Financial Officer Kevin O'Byrne.

That deal came in the wake of fellow U.K. grocer Tesco PLC's (TSCO.LN) takeover of wholesaler Booker Group, as traditional grocers look to strengthen their businesses against online players like Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Ocado Group PLC (OCDO.LN).

Mr. Scicluna is currently chairman of RSA Insurance PLC (RSA.LN) and Great Portland Estates PLC (GPOR.LN). He will step down from his position at Great Portland at or before its 2019 annual general meeting. He has held board roles at Worldpay PLC (WP) and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) and was chairman of Deloitte LLP.

At 1321 GMT, Sainsbury shares were slightly up 0.1% at 329.60 pence.

Write to Oliver Griffin at oliver.griffin@dowjones.com and Maryam Cockar at maryam.cockar@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2018 09:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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