Stakes raised in battle for Londis

A RIVAL bid to Musgrave's £60 million (€90m) offer for Britain's Londis chain of 2,000 convenience shops may be launched as early as today.

Lancelot, a bid vehicle backed by two British retailers and a private equity firm, plans to persuade the British Londis shareholders to sell them the company for the same price as the Irish firm but will offer shareholders a stake in British Londis going forward.

Musgrave's has posted its offer documents to the shareholders, who will receive £31,266 each, in advance of an extraordinary general meeting of the company on June 22 to vote on the deal.