NOTTINGHAM, England, March 30 (UPI) -- U.S. private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina raised their bid for Alliance Boots PLC to $19.8 billion Friday.
Britain's largest drugstore chain, which rejected KKR's original $18.8 billion takeover bid as too low, said it would consider the latest offer.
Alliance gave KKR and Pessina, the chain's largest shareholder, "a limited period to undertake confirmatory due diligence," it said.
As part of the process, Alliance will set up a "data room," which will also give other potential bidders access to confidential company information.
London private-equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners and New York's Blackstone Group are considering making bids on the 2,400-store chain, The Times of London reported.
And Pessina might sell his 15 percent Alliance stake if a rival offer much higher than his KKR bid is made, the Times said.
An Alliance takeover would be Europe's biggest leveraged buyout.
KKR and Pessina said they planned to develop the company's existing businesses, "both in the UK and overseas," and position Alliance "to respond to the rapid structural changes in European pharmacy retail."
