Weir extends Ludowici offer period

24th Feb 2012 07:25

Scottish engineering giant Weir, which on Thursday raised its offer to buy Australian mining equipment supplier Ludowici, has agreed to give the Ludowici board more time to consider the bid.Weir has informed Ludowici that its offer will now remain open for acceptance until six hours after a decision from the current sitting Takeovers Panel on the bid from Danish competitor FLSmidth is made public.According to Weir, FLSmidth filed a 'no increase statement' on January 23rd and then subsequently increased its offer for Ludowici, an issue that Weir has raised with the Takeovers Panel and which is currently being considered. Weir's A$10-a-share offer values Ludowici at around A$357m (£243m) on a cash and debt-free basis. jh