Chloride backing for £864m bid from rival

Chloride, the former battery manufacturer that now helps blue-chipfirms to protect against power outages, yesterday threw its weight behind a new takeover offer valuing the business at around £864m.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jun 2010, 01:16 BST
Updated 9th Jun 2010, 01:16 BST

In the latest twist in a long-running bid saga, Chloride said it recommended its shareholders vote in favour of the offer from Zurich-based firm ABB.

The offer increases the pressure on rival Emerson Electric, which failed to win the company's support with a takeover proposal worth 723m.

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Chloride employs 2,300 people in 15 countries, of which 374 are located in the UK. ABB said Chloride's strength in the area of uninterruptible power supply systems gave it a leading presence in a field where it is not active.

ABB is a specialist in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance. It has 117,000 staff and operates from more than 20 locations in the UK, employing 2,300 people.

Emerson Electric, which is based in St Louis, Missouri, tabled its offer for Chloride in April – two years after it failed with a previous proposal.

The US firm's latest offer was worth 275p a share, compared to the 325p a share in the recommended offer from ABB.

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Analysts said they had not ruled out the possibility of a counter bid from Emerson.

Seymour Pierce analyst Ian Robertson said: "The bid from ABB is a surprise as ABB has no direct interest in these markets."