WHX SWEETENS TELEDYNE BID\Firm raises offer to $1.78 billion, moves to take control of board.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Wilcox may refer to: Place names in the United States
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WHX Corp. continued its relentless pursuit of Century City-based Teledyne Inc. on Monday by increasing its hostile bid to $1.78 billion and initiated action to take over the aerospace company's board. New York-based WHX added $2 per share to its offer, bringing the buyout bid Noun 1. buyout bid - a bid to buy all of a person's holdings bid, tender - a formal proposal to buy at a specified price to $32 per share in cash and stock. The company also submitted its own slate of nominees to Teledyne's board in preparation for the annual shareholders meeting April 24. Terms of the latest offer, the fourth since a $1.218 billion bid in December 1994, were outlined in a letter WHX chairman Ronald LaBow sent Friday to Teledyne chairman William P. Rutledge. He downplayed the hostile nature of the offer. "Hopefully, we can move forward promptly toward consummating this business combination so that another proxy contest Proxy contest A battle for the control of a firm in which a dissident group seeks, from the firm's other shareholders, the right to vote those shareholders' shares in favor of the dissident group's slate of directors. Also called proxy fights. can be avoided," LaBow wrote. WHX upped its offer before Teledyne responded to a $30-a-share pitch worth $1.67 billion made Feb. 9. Analysts have said that WHX is attracted by Teledyne's pension fund, which has a surplus of $851.4 million. "The new $32 offer is WHX's way of saying, 'We've made a hostile bid but we've put plenty of sugar on it,' " said Jordan Estra, an analyst at Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . WHX is the nation's ninth-largest integrated steel producer. It must negotiate a new steelworker contract this year and its benefit costs are expected to rise. WHX could use the pension money to fund future retirement obligations at its Wheeling-Pittsburgh unit. "This bid isn't a surprise," said Michael Bunyaner, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said of the sweetened sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. offer. "WHX is getting closer." Bunyaner values Teledyne at $33 to $35 a share. WHX closed at 11-5/8, up -1/8. Teledyne closed at 27-7/8, up -5/8. The latest overture overture, instrumental musical composition written as an introduction to an opera, ballet, oratorio, musical, or play. The earliest Italian opera overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music and were called sinfonie. from the steelmaker boosts the deal's cash portion from $20 a share to $22 a share. Teledyne, whose four business lines are aviation and electronics products, specialty metals, industrial equipment and the Water Pik, said only its board would consider the new WHX proposal. |
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