Ferroatlantica's efforts to get Spain's securities regulator to allow its revised offer for Hydroelectric del Cantabrico has left the three-way bidding process in limbo.

The Commission Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), the Spanish securities regulator, said on February 13 that Ferroatlantica, the industrial company controlled by Spanish business mogul Villar Mir, must drop a minimum acceptance condition contained in its offer document for Spain's fourth largest utility.