Private equity bidders of Boots are having a tough time as Alliance Boots pension fund trustees are asking for pumping of £1 billion into the scheme. Trustees are asking for the payment as result of the multi billion pound debt that bidders would take for purchasing the company. KKR and Stefano Pessina have offered a bid of £11.1 billion for the company and would be finding the deal with debt of £8 billion but the trustees feel that debt would put the future of the firm in jeopardy and could have negative impact on the scheme.
The trustees are asking for £1 billion which should be funded by a combination of cash injection, paid over several years and offer security. The details of the bid will only come out when a formal announcement is made. The demand comes just after a month when Sainsbury’s pension scheme trustees asking for a £2 billion. The position of the bidders is still not clear in this respect and only when a formal announcement will be made that the true picture would come out.
Via guardian
