3i is considering a second tilt at Countrywide, Britain’s largest estate agents owner, which would top a recommended £1 billion offer from Apollo Management, the US buyout fund.

Its renewed interest will put Apollo under pressure, particularly if Countrywide’s share price rises over the level of the existing 590p-a-share offer, which secured the backing of the estate agency’s board on Friday.

A source close to 3i said that the company was keeping its options open, adding that any offer would be superior to Apollo’s cash plus shares in Rightmove, the property website part-owned by Countrywide. Since Apollo has tabled a formal offer, 3i, which is also in the running for the £400 million sale of Foxtons, is now entitled to launch another bid for Countrywide.

3i’s previous attempt to win Countrywide was scuppered at an extraordinary general meeting in January, when shareholders argued that the £960 million price undervalued the company at a time when the property market was moving ahead strongly.

Artisan, Countrywide’s biggest investor, is understood to have backed Apollo’s latest offer, paving the way for a deal. The US investor had joined forces with Boussard & Gavaudan, a French hedge fund, and Seneca, another hedge fund, to block the previous 3i-backed management buyout attempt of the company.

Countrywide said it had received letters of intent from shareholders including B&G and Jana, the US hedge fund that built a large stake after the 3i bid failed in January and now owns 23.8 per cent of the company.

Apollo’s offer, which is a 5p-a-share improvement on the indicative offer it made in February, includes 510p in cash, as well as 80p per share of Rightmove, the property website in which Countrywide owns a 21.5 per cent stake.

However, investors will be given the choice of cash or shares in Countrywide, up to a maximum of 12 per cent of the value of the company. It is not certain if 3i will mount a full-cash counterbid.

Shares in Countrywide, which owns estate agent brands Bairstow Eves, Mann & Co and John D Wood, closed up 1.5 per cent at 579½p on Friday.

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