"Citigroup retail analyst Craig Woolford believes the consortium...

"Citigroup retail analyst Craig Woolford believes the consortium will be back with a new offer between $15.00 to $15.50 a share, valuing Coles Myer between $17.9 billion and $18.5 billion.

"At this price, there is a sufficient control premium offered to Coles Myer shareholders and the private equity consortium still receives a satisfactory internal rate of return," Mr Woolford said.

"The key questions are whether there is a rival bidder, whether the bid is final and at what price a deal could be completed."
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