Construction equipment manufacturer Terex is considering a $3.2bn takeover offer from Chinese manufacturer Zoomlion.
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Company has made an unsolicited offer of $30 per share. Terex has entered into a confidentiality agreement with Zoomlion and is in discussions, but remains committed to going ahead with its planned merger with Konecranes.
In a statement, Terex said: “Consistent with its fiduciary duties, the Terex board of directors, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, is carefully reviewing the Zoomlion proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of Terex shareholders. Terex will have no further comment until the Board has completed its review.”
Zoomlion is one of China’s big three construction equipment companies, behind XCMG and Sany. It had sales of $4.4bn last year, compared to Terex’s $7.3bn.
Zoomlion acquired Sittingbourne Powermole back in 2003 and Italian concrete pump manufacturer Cifa in 2008. It is listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges.
If it acquires Terex, Zoomlion will be acquiring its factories in Coventry and Northern Ireland (Powerscreen and Finlay) as well as the Genie aerial work platform business and Demag cranes.
Terex is in the middle of a going through a merger with Konecranes of Finland, which makes factory and dockside cranes. The Terex directors said that this process would continue for the time being, concurrently with the Zoomlion talks. Konecranes directors also said that they remained committed to the merger with Terex.
Terex share price jumped from around $15 to $20 on news of Zoomlion’s approach.