ANDREW Regan's ambitious plan to take over Britain's Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) collapsed unexpectedly yesterday, but he now faces further CWS legal action.
Mr Regan's special bidding company, the Galileo Group, made a brief statement saying it had abandoned its proposal to turn the mutually-owned CWS into a limited company and then make an offer for it.
But a CWS spokesman said the 153-year-old supermarkets to funeral parlours group, which had not been formally notified of Galileo's apparent change of heart, would begin a private prosecution against Mr Regan and business associate Mr David Lyons.
It also said it would begin proceedings against suspended CWS manager Mr Allan Green for alleged theft of documents linked to the bid. And British merchant bank Hambros and law firm Travers Smith Braithwaite will also face a CWS civil action.
None of the parties mentioned in the CWS statement was immediately available for comment.
Galileo said it would not pursue its bid after CWS chairman Mr Lennox Fyfe on Wednesday rejected a plea for an end to legal proceedings and an invitation to put Galileo's plans to CWS members.
"In the light of this response, Galileo announces that it will not be pursuing its proposal," it said. But banking sources said the bid may have been withdrawn because one of the backers, Japanese securities giant Nomura Securities Co Ltd, had thought again following the allegations surrounding the main protagonists.
Mr Regan has been stalking the Co op for several months but an expected £1.2 billion sterling bid was thwarted by CWS legal action.
This resulted from CWS hiring private investigators to film Mr Regan, Mr Lyons and Mr Green. On Wednesday, Mr Regan and his team handed back a total of seven boxes of documents which Galileo said had been passed to it voluntarily by a CWS employee.
Galileo's apparent climb down follows a high profile and aggressive defence by CWS involving a High Court injunction and CWS making its concerns about a payment in a previous deal with Mr Regan known to Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
CWS has interests ranging from farms and opticians to the profitable Co-operative Bank and a large insurance arm.
Galileo never made a formal offer for the CWS but there has been widespread speculation in the City that it is now "in play".
