Sept 6 (Reuters) - The manager of Investa Office Fund IOF.AX on Thursday said Blackstone (NYSE:BX) BX.N is prepared to hike its buyout offer by 3.2 percent to exceed one by Canada's Oxford Properties Group, adding fuel to a bidding war for the office landlord.
Investa Listed Funds Management Ltd (ILFML) said Blackstone had informed it in writing that it could go to A$5.52 per IOF unit, adjusting for distributions declared or paid on or after Thursday. Blackstone's previous offer was worth A$5.3485 per unit.
ILFML said its board intended to work with Blackstone to give effect to the price increase, which is a sliver higher than Oxford's A$5.50 per unit offer. It continued to recommend the Blackstone offer unless a superior offer emerged.