Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk
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The saga surrounding the acquisition of nursing home giant Genesis HealthCare Corp. continues to unfold. A joint venture group again offered a bid that earned the recommendation of the Genesis board.

Genesis disclosed Saturday that a venture between affiliates of Formation Capital LLC and JER Partners submitted a bid of $69.35 in cash. This bid is superior to a $69.25-per-share bid submitted last week by Fillmore Capital Partners LLC, the board determined. Under Formation’s new offer, the purchase price will increase by about 9% per year, from July 31 to Aug. 31, if the bid is not completed before July 31, and 10% thereafter, until the transaction closes.

Shareholders are scheduled to vote next Wednesday on the Formation offer. Fillmore still has time to counter the Formation bid, one analyst noted. Formation and Fillmore began sparring over Genesis almost a month ago.