Coats Viyella has launched an agreed £68 million sterling (€103.8 million) counter-bid for Hicking Pentecost, the ailing knitwear concern that includes Barbour Threads which employs around 900 people in Lisburn and Longford. The agreed takeover offer comes three weeks after US textiles group Ruddick made a hostile £55 million bid for Hicking Pentecost. Coats is bidding 205p cash for each Hicking Pentecost share compared with the 175p cash bid by Ruddick. Barbour Threads is the main Hicking Pentecost attraction for Coats.