Bidding war over X-Rite takeover of Gretag Macbeth

While it appeared the deal was good to go, X-Rite has been blindsided by an unexpected expression of interest from Eichhof. The Swiss financing bank has submitted a letter of intent, bidding five Swiss francs higher per share than the X-Rite offer. It has requested access to Due Diligence, after which it will decide whether to tender an official offer for Amazys.

The board of directors for Amazys have stated that while they will continue to recommend the X-Rite offer be accepted, any other offer will be evaluated in accordance with the interests of the company and its shareholders.

“The board of directors has evaluated the industrial logic of a combination of Amazys with X-Rite, the two leading companies in the colour industry, and concluded that the transaction would strengthen Amazys’ competitive position substantially,” it was claimed in a statement from Amazys.

Amazys confirms there have not yet been any discussions of potential synergies or integrations with Eichhof, so at this stage cannot comment on which company would make the better partner, or which deal would result in less redundancies across the company’s workforce.

Meanwhile, X-Rite has tendered its offer for Amazys to the value of $397 million, and has confirmed it is committed to the completion of the transaction in the face of competition from Eichhof.