GLOBAL - The $127.6bn (€92bn) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made a bid for UK engineering group Tomkins.
Aided by private equity group Onex Corporation, CPPIP offered 325p per share, which values the company at £2.9bn (€3.4bn).
Although no formal offer has been made, Tomkins has given the consortium permission to conduct due diligence.
Today shares in the company were trading for as much as 300p, up from 230p prior to the bid on Friday.
The move to buy Tomkins is not the first time a Canadian pension provider has made a bid for European companies.
In March, the $96.4bn Ontario Teacher Pension Plan bought Camelot Group, which operates the UK's lottery.
It also holds a significant share in one of the country's water providers.
CPPIB has in the past aimed for other high-profile deals, such as a 40% stake in New Zealand's Auckland airport.
The $1.4bn acquisition, which had already been approved by airport shareholders, was eventually rejected by the New Zealand government in April 2008.
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