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Boots knockout

• Robert Peston
• 24 Apr 07, 08:10 AM

This is stock market capitalism at its most raw.

Overnight, , the giant US private equity firm, in partnership with Boots's deputy chairman, Stefano Pessina, spent more than a billion pounds buying almost 10 per cent of shares.

It means they now own 25 per cent of the famous healthcare retailer and wholesaler.

What they've done has two implications.

They will now have to raise their offer to all Alliance Boots shareholders to what they paid last night, which was 拢11.39.

That means their takeover offer will value Alliance Boots at 拢11.1bn, or almost 14 per cent more than they were originally prepared to pay for the company.

And their share raid has probably defeated the rival group of and the charity , which also wants to buy Alliance Boots.

It's history: Boots, one of the UK's oldest retailers, is set to be owned by the American founder of the modern private-equity industry, KKR.

UPDATE 14:30

We thought it was all over. It is now.

Terra Firma has abandoned its attempt to buy Alliance Boots, which means that beyond any doubt KKR is the new owner.

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