LONDON -- The CEO of British supermarket chain Sainsbury's has apologized after being caught on camera singing "We're in the Money" following the takeover of Walmart's unit Asda. Mike Coupe was preparing for an ITV interview to discuss the $10 billion deal when caught on microphone singing the song from the musical "42nd Street." 
 
 Coupe sang "we're in the money, the sky is sunny, let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along." He later described it as "an unguarded moment" before settling down to speak. 
 
 Coupe, a musician in his spare time who hopes Sainsbury's will make an additional 500 million pounds in profit with the merger, apologized and said he was merely composing himself before the interview. 
 
 He called it "an unfortunate choice of song from the musical ... I saw last year and I apologize if I have offended anyone." 
 
 The British grocery chain failed to see the humor in ITV's decision to post the clip. 
 
 A spokesman for Sainsbury's told The Guardian newspaper: "We all know these songs stay in your head. To attach any wider meaning to this innocent, personal moment is preposterous." 
 
 The value of Coupe's 1.28 million shares in Sainsbury's rose over half a million pounds ($750,000) Monday after the deal's announcement. 

 Mike Coupe filmed singing song from 42nd Street while waiting for interview with ITV about deal 
 
 The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has been filmed singing “We’re in the Money” on the same day he announced a blockbuster merger with Asda. 
 
 Waiting to be interviewed by ITV, Mike Coupe started warbling one of the best-known songs from the musical 42nd Street. In the clip released by the broadcaster, he is shown singing: “We’re in the money, the sky is sunny. Let’s lend it, spend it, send it rolling along.” 
 
 Sainsbury’s did not see the funny side of ITV releasing the clip. In a statement, Coupe, who expects Sainsbury’s to make £500m in extra profit from the transaction, said he was composing himself before the interview. 
 
 “It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street, which I saw last year. And I apologise if I have offended anyone,” said Coupe, who is an accomplished musician. 
 
 A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: “We all know these songs stay in your head. To attach any wider meaning to this innocent, personal moment is preposterous.” 

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mike Coupe caught singing on camera 
 
 The boss of Sainsbury's, Mike Coupe, has apologised after being caught on camera singing "We're in the money". 
 
 He was filmed singing the words to the show tune as he was waiting to be interviewed for ITV News. 
 
 It was one of a round of dozens of interviews to explain details of the planned tie up with Asda, the company's biggest deal to date. 
 
 Mr Coupe has pledged it will bring no job losses or store closures, but some fear these will come at some point. 
 
 Suppliers are also concerned they will suffer from the tie-up. 
 
 Mr Coupe say customers will benefit by seeing prices fall by an average of 10%, something suppliers say are likely to come at the cost of their own profit margins. 
 
 'Lend it, spend it' 
 
 The song, We're in the Money, is one of the key tunes used in the musical 42nd Street, which Mr Coupe said he had seen last year. 
 
 He busked some lines from it: "We're in the money, the sky is sunny, let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along," while sitting waiting to be interviewed. 
 
 Mr Coupe, a keen guitarist who has played in front of thousands of Sainsbury's employees on occasion, issued a statement after the incident became public. 
 
 "This was an unguarded moment trying to compose myself before a TV interview," he said. 
 
 "It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street which I saw last year and I apologise if I have offended anyone." 
 
 Mr Coupe could indeed be in the money if the positive effects of Monday's announcement are sustained. 
 
 He is a shareholder in Sainsbury's, and shares in the supermarket jumped by nearly 15% on Monday after the Asda deal was announced. 
 
 Ian Cass, managing director of the Forum of Private Business, reacted scornfully to Mr Coupe's choice of song. 
 
 He said: "If that's the song he's singing and highlights his position on this, I very much doubt small suppliers would choose the same song to sing, and one option would be Highway to Hell. 
 
 "It's almost like, what's in it for him? I'm sure his bonus and dividend will go up massively because of this merger. 
 
 "I don't think there's any degree of sensitivity to our concerns. A lot of business organisations and suppliers have said this merger is making them very nervous."
– As far as gaffes go, it's pretty priceless: A CEO waiting to discuss his company's new $10 billion deal in an ITV News interview was filmed singing "We're in the Money." Mike Coupe, the head of Sainsbury's supermarkets, was captured quietly singing, "We're in the money, the sky is sunny, let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along." He has since apologized for his "unfortunate choice of song" and said he was simply "trying to compose myself before a TV interview." As for why that song, he said only that he saw the musical it hails from, 42nd Street, last year. A rep for Sainsbury's elaborated on that point, reports the Guardian, saying, "We all know these songs stay in your head. To attach any wider meaning to this innocent, personal moment is preposterous." But the potential truth of the song stung some critics, who noted that Sainsbury's shares surged 15% after news of the Asda acquisition was announced Monday. CBS News reports that jump raised the value of Coupe's own shares by $750,000. The BBC notes this wasn't Coupe's first foray into music. The "keen guitarist" has previously performed in front of thousands of his employees.