Germany’s ThyssenKrupp on Tuesday said it had raised its bid for the Canadian steelmaker Dofasco to US$4.2bn, matching the latest competing offer from steel rival Arcelor.
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The Associated Press said both bidders are now offering CAN$63 (US$54.23) per share, or a total of CAN$4.88bn (US$4.2bn), in cash for Dofasco, which is a major supplier to US automakers.
Dofasco reiterated its support for the German company’s latest bid on Tuesday, the report noted.
“The special committee of Dofasco’s board of directors is continuing to support the ThyssenKrupp offer in its recommendation to Dofasco shareholders primarily on the basis that it is less conditional than the Arcelor offer, while offering the same cash price to shareholders,” Dofasco chairman Brian MacNeill said, according to The Associated Press.
AP noted that Arcelor on 23 December raised its offer for Dofasco to CAN$63 from its initial offer of CAN$56 last year.
Duesseldorf-based ThyssenKrupp later trumped that offer with a cash bid of CAN$61.50 a share, more than 9.8% above Arcelor’s first hostile offer for Dofasco, The Associated Press said.
“Thyssen is showing Arcelor its teeth and makes clear it won’t give up on Dofasco that easily,” Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz analyst Thomas Hofmann told the news agency, adding: “However, whether this strategy to move in small steps is the most clever strategy remains to be seen.”
