"JC Flowers' £3.5 billion takeover tilt at Friends Provident looked to be on the brink of collapse last night after the American buyout firm refused to sweeten the terms of its offer and said that it would walk away unless it was given access to top management by Friday."
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3744962.ece