Entrepreneur Philip Green stamped out rumours he was planning a fresh bid for Marks & Spencer yesterday after shares in the store group rose on speculation the tycoon was planning a comeback.
But the billionaire owner of the Arcadia fashion chain and Bhs stores left the door open for another attempt to buy M&S, saying he reserved the right to make an offer if a third party expressed interest in buying the clothes retailer.
"It's a welcome statement, it clears the air," said Tim Green, analyst at broker Brewin Dolphin.
M&S declined to comment on Mr Green's statement.
Shares in M&S have risen more than 15 per cent since January when it warned full-year profits would be well below market expectations. Chief Executive Stuart Rose is struggling to turn around the fortunes of the British high-street icon.
Analysts said the jury was still out on whether the share rise was due to bid speculation or investors' faith in Mr Rose's recovery plan, which includes £250 million of cost savings and a renewed focus on women's clothing.
The statement from Philip Green follows the expiry last month of a six-month ban by financial authorities on him making another approach following the collapse of his nine billion pound approach in July last year.
"One would imagine he's getting sick of all the rumours and questions about his intentions for M&S," said analyst Matthew McEachran at Investec Securities.
M&S shares were little changed in morning London trade, just one per cent lower at 364-1/2 pence, valuing the firm at around £6.1 billion. The cost of insuring against a default by Marks & Spencer dropped slightly in the credit markets after investors gave a sober welcome to the news Mr Green had ruled out a bid for the company. M&S debt suffered last year when Mr Green first announced his takeover plans because investors feared he would pile debt on the company's balance sheet to finance the acquisition.
Separately, analysts brushed aside a story in yesterday's Guardian newspaper about a South African financier trying to get backing from M&S employees to make a 410 pence per share bid for M&S.
Mark Paulsmeier, who says he runs a venture capital network from Cape Town, has financial backing from an American firm called Oakwell Associates, the newspaper said.
M&S declined to comment on the story yesterday and Mark Paulsmeier was not immediately available to talk.
Oakwell's past business deals involve buying one of the world's largest uncut diamonds, named the Oakwell Diamond, at a private auction in Zurich in November, according to Paulsmeier's website.