GILLETTE <GS> SEEN OBJECT OF GLOBAL BIDDING WAR Ronald Perelman, head of Revlon Group Inc <REV>, may be trying to ignite a bidding war for Gillette Co that could draw some big international players and in the process make a lot of money for himself, Wall Street analysts said. Several hours before a regularly scheduled board of directors meeting, Gillette disclosed that Perelman requested consent of its board for an offer of at least 40.50 dlrs per share. Perelman needed the consent because he agreed in November not to buy stock for 10 years without permission. "I think Ronald Perelman is less interested in Gillette and more interested in putting Gillette into play because he stands to make a ton of money," said Andrew Shore, analyst at Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. "In play" is a term used on Wall Street to describe what happens when a company becomes an unwiling takeover target. Shore noted that according to the 1986 agreement Revlon gets paid if there is any acquisition of Gillette through November of this year at a price higher than 29.75 dlrs per share. Gillette rose three to 40 today, following a gain of three yesterday. The agreement would be calculated on the basis of Perelman's previous holding of 18.4 mln shares, adjusted for a split. For example, a deal between Gillette and some other company at 44 dlrs per share would make Revlon richer by 262 mln dlrs under the formula. Neither Perelman nor his spokesmen returned telephone calls seeking comment. "Revlon stands to make a substantial amount of money if someone else takes over Gillette," said Analyst Deepak Raj of Merrill Lynch and Co. "I'm not saying that is going to happen but Gillette is an undervalued stock with a breakup value of 45 dlrs per share." Shore of Shearson Lehman said there are a couple of reasons why Perelman may not be really interested in acquiring Gillette. He said Perelman, in the process of taking Revlon private after acquiring control of the cosmetics company two years ago, probably wants to concentrate on improving Revlon's operations. "He's trying to overhaul and improve the image of the dearptment store business." Another reason is that Revlon has recently made two other acquisitions. Under those circumstances, Shore would not be surprised if some company such as Unilever plc <UN.AS> or Procter and Gamble Co <PG> decided to take a look at Gillette. Shore mentioned half a dozen other potential buyers for Gillette including Sir James Goldsmith, Hanson Trust plc <HAN>, RJR Nabisco Inc <RJR>, American Brands Inc <AMB> and Ralston Purina Co <RAL>. "Perelman is trying to put the company in play," said a Wall Street arbitrageur. "He gets to share in the upside if the company is sold." Another arbitrageur said he expects Gillette to resist Perelman's overture. "I can't see the board consenting, what has changed between November and now," he said. Another arbitrageur said he was not sure what was going on. "Perelman never does anything without a fair amount of calculation," he said. But he added, "The Gillette board has to be careful. They just can't say no or they'll be sued by shareholders." Gillette's board was still meeting at 1700 EDT, three and one-half hours after the scheduled starting time. According to a copy of Perelman's letter released by Gillette, he would be prepared to sign a defnitive merger agreement without any financing condition. He said Citibank N.A. is his lead lender and First Boston Inc is his financial adviser.