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GKN welcomes Dana's cash offer, retracts director quotes
GKN has received an increased cash offer for its Driveline business from US-based Dana, while also being forced to retract directors' statements quoted in Sunday newspapers about the hostile takeover bid from Melrose Industries.
Dana on Monday increased the cash offer by $140m (£100m) payable to GKN on the combination of GKN's Driveline business with Dana, meaning the FTSE 100 company will now receive $1.77bn in cash after deducting $1.0bn for the transfer of pension deficit.
GKN shareholders will continue to own 47.25% of the combined company listed on both the NYSE and LSE. All other terms remain unchanged, including GKN's intention to return up to £700m of cash to shareholders.
Earlier, the company retracted two statements quoted in Sunday newspapers about the support the company has from investors as it looks to stave off a hostile takeover bid by smaller turnaround specialist Melrose Industries ahead of the 29 March deadline.
In the Sunday Telegraph, GKN chief executive Anne Stevens said that she was "convinced" investors will back GKN, while in the Sunday Times finance director Jos Sclater said "long-only shareholders are mostly supportive of existing management, and understand that the Dana deal and becoming a pure play aerospace company has, longer term, significantly more value than the Melrose bid."
GKN on Monday confirmed that neither statement was verified and so "are hereby retracted".