Arcline Investment Management LP offered to buy industrial manufacturer Circor International Inc. for $57 a share, topping an earlier proposal by fellow buyout firm KKR & Co.
(Bloomberg) — Arcline Investment Management LP offered to buy industrial manufacturer Circor International Inc. for $57 a share, topping an earlier proposal by fellow buyout firm KKR & Co.
The bid, which is all cash and fully financed, represents a 12% premium to the value of KKR’s pending acquisition, Arcline said Wednesday in a statement. The new offer was submitted to Circor and will expire Thursday evening if the board hasn’t declared it to be a superior proposal.
Arcline’s move intensifies a bidding war for Circor, a maker of equipment such as pumps and valves for aerospace, industrial and energy companies. KKR on Wednesday upped its offer to $51 a share, valuing Circor at about $1.7 billion including debt, after the target company received an unsolicited proposal from a third party valued at $52.65 a share in cash.
Circor’s board previously recommended KKR’s raised offer because it “offered more financing certainty and a clearer and faster path to receiving antitrust approvals.”
Arcline already has a presence in the aerospace and defense market with investments in Fairbanks Morse Defense, Quantic Electronics and Signia Aerospace, according to its website. The investment firm, started in 2018, has about $8.9 billion of cumulative capital commitments.
KKR reaffirmed its commitment to the deal after Arcline’s offer, saying in a statement Wednesday that it poses fewer regulatory hurdles than the bid by Arcline, which owns a direct competitor to Circor. KKR said its acquisition is still expected to close in the fourth quarter.
“KKR is confident that its transaction to acquire Circor maximizes shareholder value while minimizing regulatory, market and industry risks,” it said. The deal “presents no risk of antitrust delays or failure to close at the expense of Circor shareholders given the lack of competitive overlap.”
Circor’s shares rose 4.8% to $53.94 at 9:51 a.m. in New York. The stock has more than doubled this year.
(Updates with KKR response beginning in sixth paragraph)
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