Higher Bid for Gateway Corp.: A group...

Higher Bid for Gateway Corp.: A group headed by Wasserstein Perella & Co. has raised its bid for the British food store chain Gateway Corp. by $71 million in an effort to defeat an offer from rival Isosceles PLC. The New York investment firm and its partner, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., offered $3.75 a share, up from $3.67. The new offer is worth about $3.34 billion. The bidders, operating under the name Newgateway, said this was their final offer. While the bid exceeds the $3.56-a-share cash portion of the Isosceles’ offer, it falls short of the $3.79 to $3.87 a share that Isosceles’ advisers claim their cash-and-stock bid is worth.