After seven weeks of wrangling for the takeover of Alliance Boots the initiator of the bidding war, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, appears to have won through as its competitor, a consortium including Terra Firma and The Wellcome Trust, announced it will not proceed in its bid for the pharmacy chain.
The move comes as private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts announced an increased offer to £11.39 a share.
After buying up a large block of shares at the new higher price, KKR had to raise their bid in accordance with City takeover rules.
Analysts say that the increased bid makes the consortium the 'very, very firm favourite' and speculate that it is possible that KKR will try to buy more in the market today, moving the odds even further in their favour.
The war began last week with an initial bid of £10.90 a share that secured the backing of the Alliance Boots board.
The revised offer now values Alliance Boots at £11.1bn and is designed to win the battle for the pharmacy giant.
KKR and Stefano Pessina - the deputy chairman of Alliance Boots - now own 21.5% of the shares in the company.
This latest development could mean that Terra Firma now walk away from any deal, but if they difg they heels in, today's meeting with Alliance Boots would kick start a period of due diligence
The takeover of Alliance Boots would be Europe's largest ever private equity deal.