UK retail tycoon Mr Philip Green indicated he was unlikely to be ready to improve his offer for Marks & Spencer (M&S) this week, saying yesterday he had not yet begun sounding out the retailer's top shareholders.
Mr Green, whose initial bid of around £8 billion (€11.9 billion) was dismissed by some shareholders last week as "derisory", said he is undecided on his next move.
"I am talking with my advisers and when I see them later on today or tomorrow we will decide where we go," Mr Green said.
When asked whether he had consulted any of M&S's top shareholders yet, Mr Green said: "Not at this time."
A spokesman for the retail tycoon said: "By the end of the week, we'll have started sounding them out."
M&S is on red alert, expecting a revised offer in days rather than weeks.
Among M&S's top shareholders are US firms Brandes Investment Partners, the Capital Group, Artisan Partners and UK firm Legal & General, with a total of 25 per cent of the shares.
Brandes, the biggest shareholder, sold £10 million of stock on Friday after M&S rejected Green's initial approach, but it still holds a 12.86 per cent stake in the UK's top clothing retailer.
M&S has hired Green's old sparring partner Mr Stuart Rose to help it recover and defend the bid. Mr Rose used to run Arcadia before selling it to Mr Green in 2002, extracting an improved offer.
- (Reuters)
