Battle for ownership of Black Country manufacturers hots up

COOPER Safety has stepped up its interest in Mount Engineering – owner of Darlaston’s Redapt Engineering – with an offer valuing the company at £19.23m.

The offer of 82p per share is 17% higher than the bid made by Wakefield-based engineering support services firm Redhall last week which valued the company at £16.4m.

An agreement reached with Redhall means Mount cannot recommend the rival offer immediately but the board has now urged shareholders to take “no action” with regard to the offers on the table.

Cooper Industries president Kirk Hachigian said: “We believe that Mount is a good fit with the Cooper Group and brings a strong range of complementary products that should create cross-selling opportunities.

“We believe we can provide the right business environment and resources to continue to invest in, grow and develop Mount.”

In a statement, Cooper Controls, which operates Cooper Safety in Leamington Spa, said it believed there was a “a good strategic fit” for the products of Mount with its own range of products and the two companies had “complementary distribution networks” which would open up cross-selling opportunities.

The 82p per share offer represents a 47.7% premium on the price of Mount shares before Redhall lodged its bid last week.

York-based Mount Engineering operates Redapt Engineering, in Darlaston, and Aldridge-based Raxton as well as Hi-Flow Valves in Suffolk.

The York office of Dickinson Dees, led by Philip Ashworth and Matthew Smith, are advising Mount Engineering.