In a fight to the finish, industrial automation provider Emerson Electric has upped its bid to acquire uninterruptible power supply specialist Chloride Group PLC, in an attempt to entice shareholders away from a competing offer by ABB, which the Chloride board accepted earlier this month.
U.K.-based Chloride has spurned Emerson’s offers twice before. In 2008, Chloride rejected an Emerson offer to buy the company for 270 pence per share. In April of this year, Emerson offered 275 pence per share, or approximately $1.1 billion, which the Chloride board again rejected, saying it undervalued the company.
Today, just weeks after Chloride’s board accepted ABB’s $1.2 billion bid, which is now under consideration by shareholders, Emerson swooped in with a $1.51 billion offer.
Emerson’s offer of 375 pence ($5.67) per share is 50 pence higher than ABB’s offer. Emerson also promised to pay Chloride shareholders the 3.3 pence dividend they had been slated to receive.