Debenhams to pay stg£6m to takeover group

THE board of department store group Debenhams has agreed to pay stg£6 million to a consortium which is considering launching a rival bid for the business, it emerged today.

The group said it agreed to pay costs of more than stg£1 million a week to the consortium made up of CVC Capital Partners and Texas-Pacific Group for up to five weeks.

It decided to pay the fees in the hope the consortium would trump the offer private equity firm Permira had made for Debenhams, which is understood to value the group at stg£1.54 billion.