Melrose rival named
US company Colfax Corporation has been named as the mystery bidder to thwart Warwickshire-based Melrose's attempt to buy Charter International.
Charter confirmed the US manufacturer had been behind the rival bid which was made in August this year.
Colfax said: "The acquisition of Charter, if consummated, would complement its stated strategy which, in addition to driving organic growth, includes pursuing value-creating acquisitions within its served markets, and adding complementary growth platforms, to provide scale and revenue diversity."
Turnaround specialist Melrose announced last week that it would increase its bid for the Irish engineering group from 840p per share to 850p per share.
Melrose gave Charter an initial "put up or shut up" deadline of 6 September to complete a deal, which both companies have now agreed to extend to 21 September.
