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British engineering group Senior said it was in talks with potential buyers after receiving multiple offers, sending shares in the FTSE 250 group soaring 20 per cent on Friday.
The company, which makes parts for the aerospace, automotive and energy markets, said it had received two all-cash proposals from “potential” bidders and that discussions were “ongoing”.
The interest follows an all-cash proposal from a separate approach on January 14, which was unanimously rejected by the Senior board as it undervalued the company and its prospects, the company said. Two higher proposals from the same party were rejected this month.
Following these approaches Senior said it hired Lazard and Jefferies to initiate talks with a “limited number of third parties” and it had since received two “further, superior all-cash proposals”. The company declined to comment on the identity of the bidders.
The prospect of a takeover battle for the company sent shares in Senior surging to 302p on Friday, valuing the group at just under £1.3bn. The company has operations in the UK, Europe, the US and south-east Asia. It specialises in making ducts and valves that help control fuel consumption for customers in the aerospace, defence, land vehicle and energy markets.
If Senior is acquired, it would be the latest in a long run of British industrial groups to be taken over in recent years. The sector has been targeted by private equity and industrial buyers. Advent International bought Cobham and Ultra Electronics, while Meggitt was acquired by US industrial group Parker Hannifin.
Senior in 2021 rebuffed several takeover offers from US private equity group Lone Star Global Acquisitions which valued the UK company at £840mn. At the time, Senior, along with other aerospace and defence companies, had been hard hit by the slowdown in aviation following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since then shares in Senior have rallied as the company has benefited from higher aerospace spending. It raised its annual profit outlook for the second time in two months in January as it benefited from a stronger than expected performance in its aerospace business.
As part of the review, the company had temporarily postponed its previously announced £40mn share buyback.
Meanwhile, shares in Melrose Industries fell more than 13 per cent after the company posted a weaker than expected outlook for the year amid persistent supply chain disruptions. The owner of GKN Aerospace, which supplies aircraft components for civil and military aircraft, said it expects adjusted operating profit between £700mn and £750mn for 2026, compared with analyst expectations of £748mn.
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