Paper Plus still targeting Borders

New Zealand's Paper Plus is still trying to reach a deal to buy Borders' Australasian bookstores, including one in Riccarton, Christchurch.

The Kiwi retailing co-operative's chief executive Rob Smith said yesterday the group was continuing to "assess its options" over the 22 Australian and five New Zealand Borders stores. "At this stage there are no further developments to discuss," he said.

The protracted sale process for the Borders stores hit a further substantial bump in the road last week when the parent Borders in the United States effectively put the whole company up for sale in the face of debt problems.

Borders Inc's main shareholder, private equity group Pershing Square will provide the company with finance and as a fallback option has also arranged to buy the Australasian business, and some Singapore and British investments, for $US125 million ($NZ157m) by January 15 -- if a better deal cannot be struck by Borders Inc in the meantime.