TMCnet News
Arthur T's offer only one before Market Basket board [Gloucester Daily Times, Mass. :: ](Gloucester Daily Times (MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 29--The offer that former Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas made to purchase the other half of the 71-store private supermarket chain from his cousin's family is the only one currently under consideration, a financial expert with knowledge of the talks said today. Mark S. DiSalvo, chief executive of Semaphore, a professional services firm that takes over management of troubled venture capital and private equity funds, also said he thought the pressure was on all sides for a deal to come through. "I am aware that the only offer on the table under active consideration is by Arthur T.," DiSalvo said. Demoulas offered last week to buy the 50.5 percent of Demoulas Super Markets owned by his rival and cousin Arthur S. Demoulas for an undisclosed amount. The board of directors, controlled by Arthur S. since last summer, met Friday and Monday in Boston to consider the offer. Other media outlets have reported that other suitors could have been pitching a deal as well. A boycott and employee protest have ratcheted up pressure on all sides to make a deal, including the family shareholders, the employees and the investment bank handling a potential sale. "Self interest of all the parties is beginning to become aligned and that bodes well for a solution," he said. Neither the board of directors, the company nor Arthur T. have released statements or spoken publicly about the talks since Friday, when the board of directors confirmed receipt of Arthur T.'s offer and promised to consider it. "All the sides are diligently working toward an understanding, though they may not be doing so happily," DiSalvo said. We will update this story here at gloucestertimes.com as more information becomes available. Staff Writer Douglas Moser can be reached at [email protected], or via Twitter @EagleEyeMoser. ___ (c)2014 the Gloucester Daily Times (Gloucester, Mass.) Visit the Gloucester Daily Times (Gloucester, Mass.) at www.gloucestertimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |