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MB board denies lone bid is Arthur T's [Gloucester Daily Times, Mass. :: ](Gloucester Daily Times (MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 30--The offer 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 close to both sides of the talks said Tuesday. But the company's board of directors denies that's the case. 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 in a statement released Tuesday afternoon, however, denied that Arthur T.'s offer was the last one standing. "As the board has previously noted, it is currently engaged in a rigorous and active process to consider strategic alternatives for the company, including its possible sale," it said. "Despite reports to the contrary, Arthur T. Demoulas is but one of several potential buyers for the company who continue to express a strong interest in purchasing the company. "While Mr. Demoulas' offer provides a path toward solving many of the problems he has helped to create," the statement continued, "it is but one alternative among the options the board is reviewing." 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. Shareholders, all members of the Demoulas family, would decide whether to sell. A boycott and employee protests covering stores from New Hampshire and Maine to Tewksbury and Gloucester 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," DiSalvo 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. Staff Writer Douglas Moser can be reached at [email protected]. You can also follow him on 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 |