THE BIDDING war for Southampton docks parent ABP is heating up after a US bank upped its offer to £2.8 billion and investors are now waiting to see if its Australian rival will try to top it.

Meanwhile the spectre of Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing is still waiting in the wings with the potential for an even greater offer.

The twists and turns in the transfer saga will be followed eagerly not only by ABP's 820 Southampton employees but the 10,000 locals who rely on port-related activities for their jobs.

In a bid to head off competition for the prized asset of Britain's biggest ports group, US bank Goldman Sachs' Admiral Acquisitions consortium offered a further £200m.

ABP bosses agreed the 910p a share offer, which is likely to appeal to investors who have watched the value of their shares rocket from 620p in the last three months.

Goldman Sachs is under pressure to complete the deal after a string of failed bids for UK firms including Southampton Airport owner BAA, which is the subject of a £10 billion bid from Spanish firm Ferrovial.

However, Australia's Macquarie Bank, which is heading a rival consortium, immediately urged shareholders to "take no action in response to the revised proposal" as it considered whether to make an alternative offer.

Macquarie had been thought to be preparing to launch £2.7 billion offer this week but now faces having to come up with even more cash for ABP, which operates 21 UK ports accounting for nearly a quarter of the nation's seaborne trade Although widely thought to be interested in acquiring ABP, Hong Kong based Mr Li, dubbed superman for his business prowess, has yet to show his hand.