Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Alliance Data Systems Corp., which manages credit cards for retailers, said it hasn't been approached by Blackstone Group LP to renegotiate the terms of its takeover.

Alliance Data's stock fell as much as $14.40, or 18 percent, amid rumors that Blackstone, the New York-based buyout firm run by Stephen Schwarzman, was seeking a lower price. The two companies are working on completing the $7.8 billion transaction, which includes the assumption of debt, Alliance Data said in a statement today.

The Dallas-based company said it was responding to ``certain rumors in the market regarding the status'' of the agreement. Private-equity firms including J.C. Flowers & Co. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have abandoned leveraged buyouts, citing concerns about the financial health of the companies they are buying and waning availability of debt to fund the deals.

Alliance Data, a company that manages credit cards for retailers including Pottery Barn, said its board of directors has no plans to meet to discuss the terms of the LBO.

The company's shares erased most of the earlier losses, declining 55 cents to $77.50 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Kelly in New York at jkelly14@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 29, 2007 18:00 EST