Shares in British department store chain Debenhams leapt more than 25% in London today after the company said that it had received a takeover approach.
The announcement came just hours after upmarket department store Selfridges announced that it had agreed a £598m takeover from Canadian billionaire Galen Weston.
The indicative offer from private equity firm Permira values Debenhams at 425p a share or £1.54 billion - 28% higher than its value at the start of trading today. The proposal boosted the Debenhams share price to 409.5p.
A statement from Debenhams said that there could be no certainty that a firm offer would be made as the proposal was subject to a due diligence process.
