A £16m takeover deal involving two Black Country engineering firms could be back in the melting pot after an eleventh hour rival bid for the businesses.
Redapt Engineering, in Darlaston, and Aldridge-based Raxton are both subsidiaries of Mount Engineering.
Yorkshire-based support services firm Redhall was last week thought to have secured the £16.4m takeover deal after the Mount board recommended the 70p per share proposals to shareholders.
However, Leamington Spa-based emergency equipment manufacturer Cooper Safety has now thrown a spanner in the works by announcing it is considering a rival bid.
Cooper Safety, a UK subsidiary of Cooper Industries, has suggested it may be ready to offer 78p per share and is hoping to complete due diligence this week.
In a statement, the company said: “Cooper Safety currently intends to work towards a recommended transaction and to entering a constructive dialogue with Mount and its major shareholders and is announcing this proposal as a means to encourage and further this process.”
Responding to the announcement, Mount Engineering said it would “engage in dialogue” with Cooper to learn more details of its proposed offer.
Wakefield-based Redhall had said the move for Mount would strengthen its presence in the oil and gas sector, improve its specialist manufacturing capability and increase operating margins.
Earlier this month, Mount Engineering, which also operates Hi-Flow Valves in Suffolk, announced pre-tax profits of £1.19m for the six months to the end of June, down from £1.42m in the same period last year.
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