Power at the pump

24 January 2017 By Olaf Storbeck

Family-owned Busch has offered to buy the 73 pct of Pfeiffer Vacuum it doesn’t already own, valuing its rival at $1 bln. Paying a 12 pct premium to the three-month average share price is too stingy. Pfeiffer’s improving profitability and potential synergies merit a higher price.

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Family-owned German vacuum pump maker Busch on Jan. 24 launched an all-cash bid for pump making peer Pfeiffer Vacuum. The unlisted group is offering 96.20 euros per share, 12 percent higher than the target’s volume-weighted three-month average price. The bid values Pfeiffer at 949 million euros ($1.02 billion).

Busch, which already owns 27.2 percent of Pfeiffer, said it had secured additional shares that would increase its stake to just under 30 percent before it publishes its takeover offer.

Pfeiffer makes pumps used by industrial companies like semiconductor firms and makers of analytical devices such as electron microscopes.

By 1024 GMT on Jan. 24, shares in Pfeiffer were up 7.1 percent at 99.40 euros.

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Power at the pump

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