Bidding War: Private Equity Firm Made $2.8 billion Offer to Buy Wesco in Middle of Bid for Another Firm

CEW anxiter CDR wesco 400

Jan 7, 2020

By Anya Litvak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Last month, as Wesco International Inc. intensified its pursuit of another electrical equipment distribution company, the Station Square-based firm found itself the target of a potential takeover bid.

The buyout offer came from New York-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice — the same private equity firm that Wesco is competing with to buy Anixter International. 

CD&R offered Wesco $68 per share — an approximate value of $2.8 billion — in early December. According to public filings disclosed by Illinois-based Anixter on Friday, Wesco decided not to entertain the overture.

Instead, the Pittsburgh company is sweetening its offer to Anixter for the seventh time. On Friday, the company announced it had raised the buyout bid to $97 for each share of Anixter’s stock, which opened at $96.75 on the news.

Wesco started the day trading at $58.88 per share.

A long history

The tug between Wesco and CD&R…

This article was originally published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, you can find the full article HERE

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