Bidders queuing up for Boosey

MUSIC publisher Boosey & Hawkes must know what standing at a bus stop feels like. After two years under the threat of takeover, three bids have come along at once.

London-based publishing business Music Sales is expected to make an offer after stalking Boosey - whose music rights include classic works by composers Bizet and Benjamin Britten - since 2001.

Music Sales, founded by US businessman Bob Wise, is Europe's biggest publisher of printed music as well as a major owner of music copyrights. It invested more than £1m in putting together an indicative offer for Boosey and is said to be reluctant to walk away now.

The board of Boosey, advised by Deutsche Bank, last week recommended a £40.4m cash offer from two private equity firms --Stirling Square Capital and European Acquisition Capital, which are acting through Regent Street Music, a company set up for the deal.

Then another private equity firm, HgCapital, said it was 'seriously considering' making an offer, trying to win shareholder support within the three-week deadline Regent Street Music has put on its proposal.

Music Sales, which already has a 3.9% stake in Boosey, had informally approached the 240-year-old company several times before the auction process began in earnest nearly two years ago, but was always rebuffed. Boosey would be a good fit for Music Sales, which owns the copyright to a huge range of classical and other music.

According to City sources, Hg Group is poised to put in a bid of as much as 210p a share for Boosey, topping Regent Street Music's offer of 195p.

Sources suggest that if Hg can raise the money in time, Regent Street Music might find itself stretched to match the price. Hg hopes its offer can have less debt and more equity. A source close to the deal said: 'If Hg could reach 205p or 210p, realistically Regent Street would have to find 220p.'

The two-year takeover saga at Boosey has been one of the most drawn out in City history. It hit problems three years ago when thousands of faulty instruments were returned and its US subsidiary was rocked by a cash crisis.

Though Boosey has attracted interest, it was only the sale of its instrument division that triggered firm offers.