Macmillan Says It’s Met With Suitor Maxwell

Textbook giant Macmillan Inc. surprised Wall Street on Wednesday by disclosing that it has met with British publisher Robert Maxwell about his $2.1-billion bid--a possible sign that it has failed to find a “white knight” to avoid a Maxwell takeover. The disclosure came in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Macmillan last Friday rejected Maxwell’s bid, and the U.S. publisher was believed to be no more friendly to Maxwell than to the Robert Bass Group, which Macmillan has fought with a proposed restructuring and in a protracted lawsuit.

Responding to the warming of relations with Maxwell, Macmillan shares declined $1.675 to $82 in New York Stock Exchange trading, as the prospects of a hostile bidding war grew more remote.