British private equity firm Permira is considering whether to submit a revised takeover offer for retailer WH Smith.
Permira, which made the statement through its Jamaica Trading bid vehicle, said no decision had yet been made on the value of a potential revised bid. The announcement comes weeks after talks broke down due to pension issues.
Shares of WH Smith were up 1.43 per cent at 320 pence while the FTSE 100 index was off 0.1 per cent at 4,388.4 points.
A source close to the process said yesterday that the buyout specialist was preparing to table a new offer of between 325 and 340 pence a share for the high street bookseller.
The source also said Permira had hired retail entrepreneur Mr John Lovering as a non-executive director, confirming an earlier newspaper report.
WH Smith pulled out of talks with Permira last month after the private equity firm said it was "highly unlikely" to make an offer of 371 pence per share, as previously planned, because trustees of the retailer's pension plan were asking for a big cash injection up front.
An offer at the mid range of 325 to 340p would value the 212-year-old retailer at around £830 million, or more than £100 million less than the value of Permira's indicative offer, which it disclosed in April.