LONDON (Reuters – Shares in British supermarket Sainsbury’s rose by 3.7% on Monday. This was due to hopes that SoftBank’s Fortress Investment might be able, after losing out on Morrisons’ auction, to turn its attention towards a larger player in UK grocery.

Sainsbury’s shares were up by 4.2 pence to 288.9 pence 0858 GMT. The business is valued at 6.7 million pounds ($9.1billion).

In Saturday’s Morrisons Shootout, Britain’s No.1, Fortress lost to Morrisons. 4 supermarket group, bidding 286 pence a share – a penny less than rival Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

Joshua A Pack, Fortress’ managing partner, indicated that Fortress was still interested in UK assets.

He stated that the UK is still a highly attractive investment location from all perspectives and that he will continue to look for opportunities to support strong management teams in growing their business and creating long-term value.

Sainsbury’s is the UK’s market leader in grocery sales, but a spokesperson from Fortress refused to speak on behalf of the company.

Sainsbury’s spokesperson declined to comment.

Sainsbury’s shares are up 28% thanks to bid speculation.

The Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire, raised his stake at Sainsbury’s by just under 10% in April. It was fueled in part by Morrisons’s bid. Simon Roberts’s “food before everything” strategy has begun to take root.

($1 = 0.7381 pounds)