Advent international, the former owner of Poundland, has reportedly teamed up with two rival equity firms to launch a takeover bid for the Pepco Group.
According to Sky News, Advent International, which offloaded Poundland in 2010 in a £200m deal, Hellman and Feidman and Mid Europa Partners are preparing a £3.8bn offer for Pepco.
According to sources cited by Sky, an offer is not yet certain but interest is said to be serious with the consortium advised Rothschild on any offer.
Pepco currently has a total of over 2,700 stores under the Poundland, Pepco and Dealz facias.
It has been previously reported that parent company Steinhoff International has been exploring a potential IPO of Pepco, and as such sources say a bid would need to be between €4.5bn (£3.8bn) and €5bn (£4.2bn) for them to abandon the plans.
Another private equity firm, Partners Group, is also reportedly considering a bid for Pepco, however it is unlikely to try and acquire the group by itself.
