THE private equity firm HgCapital raised the prospect of a bidding war for Boosey & Hawkes yesterday with the announcement that it was poised to trump an agreed ??40 million management buyout bid for the music publisher.

HgCapital is understood to be weighing a cash offer of at least 200p per share for Boosey, which boasts one of the world??s largest catalogues of classical music and includes the rights to works of composers including Stravinsky and Rachmaninov.

A 200p offer would value Boosey at ??41 million and beat the 195p bid that was unveiled by Regent Street Music, the MBO vehicle, this week. Boosey shares surged 12??p or 6.5 per cent to a 14-month high of 205p in anticipation of a bid, which would extend one of the longest-running sales in UK corporate history.

HgCapital said it would clarify its position before the end of the month and added that a decision on whether to table an offer would depend on whether it is allowed to conduct further detailed due diligence on Boosey.

A source close to the company said: ??We wouldn??t be going to all this trouble if we weren??t confident we would make a compelling bid.?? The source said HgCapital had secured debt financing from a leading high street bank.

A spokesman for Regent Street Music said: ??Ours is the only formal offer, it has the recommendation of the board and we believe it??s very attractive.?? A spokesman for Boosey said that ??naturally the board would have to seriously consider any offer that represents a premium to the existing bid??.