The Sperwer supermarket group has made a counter offer for the Super de Boer food retail chain, topping an earlier bid by rival Jumbo.

Sperwer, which owns the Plus and Spar supermarkets, is planning a bid of €4.50 a share for Super de Boer, valuing the company at €514m. The Jumbo offer, made last month, values Super de Boer at €480m.
Super de Boer, which is owned for 57% by the French supermarket concern Casino, has backed the Jumbo bid and, according to the Volkskrant, is in exclusive talks with the family firm.
Sperwer, the paper says, has not yet held talks with Super de Boer management or Casino.
Purchasing combine
Also on Monday, Jumbo said it has reached a deal with a fourth supermarket operation, Schuitema, involving the takeover of 80 Super de Boer supermarkets. Jumbo and Schuitema will also set up a joint purchasing company.
Schuitema, which operates the C1000 supermarkets, is owned by private equity company CVC.
Analysts have long awaited a consolidation round in the Dutch supermarket sector, following a price war.