Melrose sweetens offer for GKN’s aerospace arm after London intervenes
London — Melrose on Tuesday committed to a five-year ownership of GKN’s aerospace division if it succeeds in its hostile bid for the engineering company after the British government made a rare intervention in the high-profile takeover battle. Wading in to a corporate fight that has split investors, Business Secretary Greg Clark wrote to Melrose to say the time had come for the turnaround specialist to prove that its hostile £7.9bn bid would not damage the country’s defence capabilities or GKN itself. Britain touts itself as having one of the most open economies in the world but has toughened its takeover rules to force bidders to stick to the promises made during bid battles following a public backlash. Clark said he intervened due to GKN’s role at the heart of Britain’s motor and aerospace industries and as a recipient of government-sponsored and defence-related contracts. "In this case I am also mindful of the business model which Melrose operates and its history of acquiring, im...
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