Borders Down Under

As reported before, final bids are due by the end of the month for the Borders store operations in NZ and Australia. Bids are expected to be in the A$80-100mm range with Private Equity Partners the owner of Angus & Robertson the presumed front runner. Some serious contenders are already reviewing the books and according to this article from the New Zealand Herald there may be more than one or two candidates. Already mentioned were PEP and Berkelouw Books (a small book company), and now Dymocks the other large bookseller in the marketplace has confirmed it is looking to make a bid. Additionally, Woolworths and Paper Plus, a PaperChase like franchise operation, may also join in. This additional interest must be good news to Border's US who need to get a high price for these operations to mitigate the disappointing sale of the UK operations. Also noted in the article is a suggestion that Borders Australian management may have backed off a management buyout in order to align themselves with one of the purchasers most likely PEP.