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Shares in Sainsbury leapt as much as 20 percent earlier this month as rumour swirled that QIA was mounting a new takeover bid.

J Sainsbury Plc, the UK’s third-biggest grocery chain, surged in London trading on speculation its largest investor, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, may buy more shares.

A bid for J Sainsbury Plc may not be imminent, but its property assets, growth plans and uncertainty over the intentions of its top investor could keep it a focus of speculation — and its stock in demand.

Shares in Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group leapt as much as 20 percent earlier this month as chatter swirled that its largest investor, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, was mounting a new takeover bid after a previous attempt failed in 2007.

The stock slipped back as it became clear that neither Sainsbury nor its founding family, which owns about 15 percent of the business and was opposed to the takeover in 2007, had received a proposal.

But the shares still held onto almost half their gains and, having underperformed the DJ Stoxx European Retail Index by 13 percent this year, seems likely to remain supported by the possibility of an offer.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) invests surpluses generated by the emirate’s energy assets, which include the world’s third-largest gas reserves. The emirate has had a flurry of investment in Western companies this year, including orchestrating a merger between Germany’s Volkswagen AG and Porsche Automobil Holding SE that will see the emirate take a 17 percent stake in the combined automaker.

Other QIA investments this year include stakebuilding in Songbird Estates Plc, which controls more than half the buildings in London’s Canary Wharf financial district.

However, many analysts are skeptical the QIA will have another stab at a Sainsbury’s takeover.

“The leverage potential has reduced significantly, property yields have fallen sharply, Sainsbury has disposed of a further $815m of ancillary assets, and pension trustees would be even more hard-nosed,” said Jefferies’ James Grzinic.

Analysts also think the price tag that accompanied the Qatari rumours — 420 pence a share, or £7.7bn ($12.5bn) — is too low. Times have changed since the Qataris’ last abortive proposal of 600 pence a share, but analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analysts reckon a bid would have to be in excess of 500 pence a share to win management backing.

Even that may not be enough for shareholders who have weathered the storm of the economic downturn and are now looking to reap the benefits of a steady recovery in consumer spending and Sainsbury’s ambitious expansion plans.

There are grounds, however, for thinking the QIA might be tempted into a bid at a higher price.

One is Sainsbury’s rich real estate portfolio, which Jefferies estimates is worth $12.2bn, or 0.95 times the group’s enterprise value, compared with 0.79 times for Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket group.

Superstore property yields appear to have steadied around the 6 percent mark and, while they may not return to the boom levels of about 4.5 percent, some think it might be a good time to buy in anticipation of a recovery.

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