Sarney's out-of-the-blue offer arose as the planned auction of the kit at the closed book printer came to an end. The auction raised over £700,000 and was set to end more than 126 years of book printing at the Frome site.
Kubik confirmed this afternoon that the management team's bid for the closed book printer was "on a par" with the proceeds raised from the auction.
However, Sarney was quick to play down the potential of the news, pointing out that there were "a number of hurdles" that needed to be achieved, that this was only "one piece in the jigsaw" and a deal was far from complete.
The surprise acceptance follows comments from the administrator in last week's PrintWeek that Sarney's original bid for the company fell well short of what was acceptable.
Butler and Tanner was closed by owner MPI on 26 April following a protracted and public dispute with the union, resulting in more than 270 job losses.
For more see printweek.com on Monday.
Administrator accepts Sarney's last ditch B&T rescue bid
Kevin Sarney's surprise eleventh-hour bid for Butler and Tanner has been accepted by administrator Peter Kubik, although a deal is a long way from being completed, Sarney has said.
