The clock is ticking right now for shareholders of CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH). Fiat Industrial SpA (PINK:FNDSF) (BIT:FIP) (BIT:FI) has just raised the stakes in what the company’s chairman calls their “best and final” offer to merge with CNH Global. Shareholders have two days to decide if they will accept the new sweeter deal offered by Fiat Industrial.
Executives of Fiat Industrial SpA (PINK:FNDSF) (BIT:FIP) (BIT:FI) say they will still move forward with their plans for a merger if they do not accept this new offer. The company’s previous offer was for shareholders of CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH) to receive 3.828 shares of the new merged company and shareholders of Fiat Industrial to receive one share of the new company. That offer was rejected in October, after a committee of advisers to the board said that it was not adequate and that it wasn’t in the company’s best interests. Under the new deal, Fiat Industrial SpA (PINK:FNDSF) (BIT:FIP) (BIT:FI) would give a $10 per share dividend to shareholders of CNH Global. That dividend would be paid on top of the stock swap that was offered in the first deal earlier this year. Using today’s stock price for Fiat Industrial, today’s deal is valued around $1.6 billion.
Fiat Industrial SpA (PINK:FNDSF) (BIT:FIP) (BIT:FI) already owns 88 percent of CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH). Company executives want to acquire the other 12 percent with the aim of simplifying their corporate structure. They hope that the new merged company would attract more investors. They intend to put stock listings for the company in Italy and New York, and base operations in the Netherlands.
This afternoon shares of Fiat Industrial SpA (PINK:FNDSF) (BIT:FIP) (BIT:FI) were trading 2.5 percent higher in Italy, while shares of CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH) were trading 4.2 percent higher in the U.S.
