GKN suitor SAIC Motor Corp said to be sounding out US groups for possible consortium bid - report
SAIC Motor Corporation and its adviser JPMorgan were said to have contacted several US-based industrial groups regarding a potential consortium bid for the FTSE-100 engineering company GKN [LON:GKN], The Daily Mail reported.
The newspaper’s market report section cited City sources who said JPMorgan had already sounded out US-based groups including Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE:NOC] and United Technologies Corporation [NYSE:UTX] about forming a consortium with SAIC to make a offer for GKN.
SAIC is keen to acquire GKN’s land systems and driveline businesses, the item said. Any bid partner would therefore be looking to acquire GKN’s aerospace operations, the report added. The article said the prospective consortium offer could value GKN at GBP 7bn (EUR 8.07bn).
Making a joint offer with a western partner would mitigate the political or regulatory concerns regarding an offer from SAIC, which is backed by the Chinese government, the item said.
The report also mentioned the UK-base industrial groups BAE Systems [LON:BA], Rolls-Royce [LON:RR] and Melrose [LON:MRO] as potential consortium partners.
GKN’s share price closed 2.3p up at 323.2p in London on Friday, 23 September, giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP 5.54bn.