Bidder pulls out of HMV race

Private equity firm Permira pulled out of the race for HMV today after the music store rejected its latest bid.

Permira said it was “disappointed” at last week’s decision by the HMV board to turn down its £842.7m (€1.2bn) bid.

Waterstone’s owner HMV said the 210p a share offer – which followed an earlier bid of 190p – was too low, prompting Permira to end its interest today.

In a statement to the stock market, Permira said: “Permira is disappointed at the response of the board and believes that the revised 210p per share proposal represented a compelling proposition for the shareholders of HMV.

“Accordingly, in light of the board’s response, Permira has decided not to proceed.”