Imperial set to be trumped by equity pair

Two private equity firms today entered the battle for Spanish cigarette maker Altadis after unveiling a potential €12.8bn offer.

The indicative bid from CVC Capital and PAI Partners beats the latest £8.2bn (€12bn) approach from Bristol-based Imperial Tobacco, which is also wooing the Madrid-based company best known for making Gauloise cigarettes.

Altadis said today that CVC and PAI had made the offer subject to due diligence and approval from the Altadis board.

Imperial has made two indicative offers for the business since March, both spurned by Altadis.