Circor shares soar after larger rival Crane launches hostile $1.7 billion takeover

Circor International Inc (NYE:CIR) shares skyrocketed Tuesday after a larger rival made an unsolicited $1.7 billion bid to buy out the diversified industrial manufacturer.

Crane Co’s (NYSE:CR) all-cash offer of $45 per share is a 47% premium over Circor’s Monday closing price of $30.66.

Circor shares soared about 40% to $12.17 in afternoon trading on the news.

Crane CEO Max Mitchell said in a statement that because Circor’s board rejected a private offer earlier this month, Crane appealed to shareholders publicly so they could “express their views directly to the Circor board.” Crane called the deal an an “alternative to Circor’s “prospects as a standalone company.”

Circor responded this afternoon, saying the board had determined that the unsolicited proposal was “highly opportunistic, substantially undervalued Circor and its future prospects, and did not constitute a basis for engaging in further dialogue with Crane at this time.”

A diversified maker of engineered industrial products, Crane expressed confidence that a transaction could happen quickly as it doesn’t require financing.

–ADDS Circor response, UPDATES share price–

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Story by ProactiveInvestors