Haldex shares soar as SAF Holland bids $325 million

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -German automotive supplier SAF Holland said it was offering 3.2 billion Swedish crowns ($325 million) in cash for all the shares it does not own in Stockholm-listed Haldex, sending shares in the brakes maker surging more than 40%.

Haldex said its board unanimously recommended the bid, calling the 66 crowns per share offer “a fair cash price”. Shareholders representing 22.5% of Haldex have undertaken to accept the offer.

It is SAF Holland’s second go at acquiring Haldex after a failed attempt in a bidding war in 2016. German rivals Knorr-Bremse and ZF Friedrichshafen also failed in their takeover attempts.

Haldex shares spiked 44% in Wednesday morning trade to 64.80 crowns, just under the offer price.

In addition to the 22.5% of shares that SAF Holland has secured agreements for, the German company said it has already acquired 14.1% of Haldex’s outstanding shares. Of that 9.2% was purchased from top shareholder Knorr-Bremse.

$1 = 9.8074 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm, Stine Jacobsen and Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik and Edwina Gibbs)