Dana Adds to Offer for UK-based Driveline Operation
Dana Inc. announced it has upped its offer for the driveline division of United Kingdom-based GKN plc by $140 million to $1.77 billion, an 8.6% increase.
It will also double the size of its share repurchase program to $200 million, according to the Maumee, Ohio-based company. If successful, Dana intends to create Dana Plc, a global driveline systems company.
Investors have until March 29 to decide between competing proposals for GKN, Bloomberg News reported.
GKN has agreed to sell its automotive unit to U.S.-based Dana in a $6.1 billion transaction aimed at repelling a hostile takeover from investment group Melrose Industries and its $10-billion offer.
Politicians and labor groups in the United Kingdom have said that they doubt Melrose’s expertise and portrayed it as an asset-stripper in disguise, according to Bloomberg.
“We are clearly enhancing the superior value this combination offers to GKN shareholders. This strategic transaction is driven by powerful industrial logic and offers a unique opportunity for shareholders to participate in the creation of a global leader in vehicle drive systems and electric propulsion,” Jonathan Collins, chief financial officer of Dana, said in a statement.
