KKR sweetens Circor offer again in bidding war with Arcline (updated)
30/06/2023 24:21
(Adds background in paragraph 4-6)
June 29 (Reuters) - Circor International CIR.N said on
Thursday that KKR & Co KKR.N had raised its offer for the
industrial machinery maker by $5 to $56 per share in cash, as
the investment firm looks to fend off a rival bid from Arcline
Investment Management.
The new offer includes a ticking fee of $1 per share if the
deal does not close by October, with the actual amount accruing
on a prorated daily basis between November until December.
Arcline on Wednesday proposed to buy Circor for $1.8 billion
including debt, topping KKR's rival bid of $1.7 billion. KKR's
initial offer was $1.6 billion.
Arcline did not immediately respond to a request for comment
on KKR's revised bid. The company had given Circor until
Thursday evening to respond.
Circor makes flow-control products that makes help manage
and control liquids and gases using equipment or services such
as pumps, valves, compressors and meters.
KKR is no stranger to the sector, having bought Gardner
Denver for $3.9 billion in 2013, taking it public in 2017 and
merging it with Ingersoll-Rand Inc's IR.N industrial division
in 2020 to create a company valued at the time at $15 billion.
KKR has since cashed out from that investment.
Evercore, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Ropes & Gray LLP
served as advisers to Circor.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
((Nathan.Gomes@thomsonreuters.com;))