NOTTINGHAM, England, April 20 (UPI) -- A multimillion-dollar bidding war for Britain's Alliance Boots PLC broke out Friday after a second private-equity group trumped a bid the company accepted.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., working with Boots' billionaire Deputy Chairman Stefano Pessina, announced early in the day the board of Britain's largest drugstore chain had accepted its $21.3 billion offer.
Less than four hours later, private-equity group Terra Firma Capital Partners -- working with the Wellcome Trust medical charity and banking and insurance group HBOS PLC -- declared it would pay $21.6 billion.
Boots shares soared 7.2 percent on the news to close at $22.55 on the London Stock Exchange.
The Terra Firma bid is 40 percent higher than the Boots share price before KKR and Pessina, Boots' largest shareholder, made its first move March 9, London's Guardian newspaper reported.
Terra Firma asked the board to let it conduct due diligence and requested a meeting with management. Boots directors agreed to a meeting but did not set a date.
An Alliance takeover would be Europe's biggest leveraged buyout.
