Just because the Competition Commission clears you to bid, doesn't mean you can lowball. But HMV wasn't listening, and evidently came in with a bid substantially lower than their initial asking price of 440p made long ago - as in last fall. So low, in fact, that Ottakar's has informed HMV that it was not prepared to recommend said offer, according to Reuters. Though discussions are continuing, "at this stage there can be no certainty that agreement will be reached on terms for a recommended offer." And if the Telegraph is to be believed, then said rejected offer was a measly 278p - much lower than Ottakar's going share rate of 328p, and far lower than what City analysts were expecting.

Which begs the question: what about WHSmith? They're still believed to be considering a 390p bid, the Scotsman reported earlier this week. Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner said: "A bid by WH Smith will come sooner rather than later. First of all, WH Smith is trialling its own stand-alone bookshops and this would solve that all in one go. It would be far less hassle and much quicker for Kate Swann to buy WH Smith. Secondly it has got to be earnings enhancing for them and they can get another 4% on Ottakar's buying in margin. If HMV bid 350p then I would expect WH Smith to come in at 390p."

And so, the fun continues...