Tchenguiz swaps some Sainsbury derivatives

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Property magnate Robert Tchenguiz has switched some of his derivatives in J. Sainsbury Plc (SBRY.L) into shares, but kept his overall 10 percent interest in the British supermarket group broadly unchanged.

A regulatory statement showed on Tuesday that Tchenguiz had switched 33.95 million contracts for difference in Britain's third-biggest supermarket group into ordinary shares.

Ordinary shares give an investor voting rights in a company, while contracts for difference do not.

Tchenguiz built up much of his interest in Sainsbury last year when the group was a takeover target first for private equity firm CVC and then Qatar's state investment fund.

The Qatar Investment Authority, which dropped its takeover plans last November, recently nudged up its stake to 26 percent.

Following the deal, Tchenguiz owns 121.95 million ordinary shares, equivalent to 6.98 percent of Sainsbury's share capital. He also still owns 60.17 million contracts for difference.

At 1430 GMT, Sainsbury shares were up 1.8 percent at 301.5 pence, valuing the firm at about 5.2 billion pounds ($10.4 billion). (Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Paul Bolding)