New Britain tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. has moved closer to winning a bidding war for Sweden’s Niscayah Group AB, The Associated Press reports.
Stanley said Thursday that it bought 37 million shares, or about 10.2 percent of the outstanding stock. Prices didn’t exceed the 18 Swedish kronor ($2.77) per share that Stanley bid for the commercial security and monitoring company in late June.
Stanley topped an earlier offer made by Securitas AB, another Swedish company
The Stanley deal has already been cleared by U.S. antitrust clearance and is backed by Niscayah’s board of directors. Two major shareholders with a combined 19.5 percent stake in Niscayah also favor Stanley’s offer.
With projected revenue of about $1 billion this year, Niscayah would help Stanley Black expand its selection of security products in Europe.
Stanley’s shares fell $1.54, or 2.4 percent, to $63.15 in afternoon trading Thursday.
