if new bids confirmed, page-4

THE MFS name looks poised to disappear from existence by April Fool's Day.

If MFS survives its debt crisis it said yesterday it would join property development spin-off MFS Diversified in abandoning its business name.

MFS will put a new name to shareholders by April 1.

And it is believed corporate raiders Private Equity Partners and US-based Kohlberg Kravis Roberts have joined the bidding war for the Stella Group of accommodation and travel assets which MFS is desperately trying to unload.

Sources said yesterday that the two leading private equity players had each offered more than $1.8 billion for a half share in the group, which includes BreakFree resorts, Peppers hotels and Harvey World Travel.

Both are superior to the $1.6 billion that CVC Asia Pacific is understood to have offered and had been rejected as too low.

Ironically, CVC is believed to have been willing to pay $2.2 billion last year but that offer too was knocked back because MFS valued the group then at $2.4 billion, sources said.

MFS yesterday told the stock exchange it had netted $93.5 million by selling its share of joint venture Domain Aged Care to AMP.

The plan to change the name comes as the name is splashed across sponsorship signs at the Australian Women's Open golf, under way at Kingston Heath.

Company spokesman John Hurst said no new name had been chosen.

He said an agreement with US company Massachusetts Financial Services meant MFS had to change its name anyway.

MFS Diversified chief executive Guy Farrands said the company planned to ditch the MFS moniker "some time over the next few days", subject to shareholder approval.

"The sooner we can do that the sooner we move on," he said.

Tourism spin-off MFS Living and Leisure already plans to change its name, with shareholders approving in November a change to MFS Worldwide Leisure.

MFS's payout for exiting Domain includes repayment of $50 million in finance MFS had provided to the joint venture, plus $43.5 million in return for options over Domain and other securities, Mr Hurst said.

It will leave the joint venture by February 29, he said.

There was no timetable for the sale of tourism arm Stella, he added.

MFS, chaired by former Liberal Party leader Andrew Peacock, was suspended from the stock exchange last week after announcing debt had blown out to $1.69 billion - $220 million of which is payable within the next three months.