ABB, Baldor extend tender offer
by January 11, 2011 8:26 am 92 views
Officials with ABB and Baldor Electric Co. announced early Tuesday (Jan. 11) they were extending the tender offer to Jan. 19 for the more than 13% of shares not tendered on the initial deadline of Jan. 10.
Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB announced Nov. 29 the move to acquire Fort Smith-based Baldor in an all-cash $4.2 billion deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2011. The Baldor board unanimously agreed to the deal, and ABB said it will keep the corporate operation in Fort Smith.
The companies said as of close of business Jan. 10, approximately 40,970,885 Baldor shares had been tendered, or 86.38% of the outstanding shares.
The deal faces a few hurdles — U.S. approval, and class action legal threats — of which the companies believe are minor and will not stop the transaction from closing in the first quarter.
On Dec. 21 it was learned that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice made a second request for documents related to the pending $4.2 billion deal. A statement from ABB and Baldor noted suggested the second request is not unusual and the DOJ will not raise antitrust issues. Authorities in Austria, Germany and Canada have cleared the transaction with respect to antitrust rules.
As to the lawsuits related to the deal, On Dec. 29, ABB and Baldor signed a memorandum of understanding with attorneys in Cottrell case and two other cases (Fortier and Chance) that would settle the cases, according to documents Baldor filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A settlement in the Cottrell case is expected by mid-February.
The ABB Group is a global manufacturer of electric motors, drives, power system components, circuit breakers, switches and numerous other devices used in power and automation systems. The company operates in 100 countries and employs 117,000.
Baldor, a maker, designer and marketer of industrial electric motors, motor drives, power transmissions and generators, employs between 7,000 and 7,500 in 26 plants in five countries and sales offices serving more than 80 countries. About 2,000 are employed in the Fort Smith area.