Altadis is going to open its books to a private equity consortium which offered a takeover bid for Altadis at € 50 per share last week. Imperial Tobacco has also been granted "adequate access" to the information it requested.

In a press release, Altadis said that its board of directors believed the preliminary offer by CVC Capital Partners and PAI Partners showed "progress towards the real value of the company” and that it had therefore decided to authorise due diligence solicited by CVC and PAI.
The press release further states that, "the board of directors reiterates its commitment to continue analysing the best options for the company, its shareholders and its employees.”
Imperial Tobacco had previously posted offers of Euro 45 and Euro 47 per share which the Altadis board of directors rejected. Imperial had made access to the company’s books a prerequisite for any possible raise of its latest offer.