Aga shareholders urged to accept Middleby offer

In a statement responding to Whirlpool's efforts to hijack its £129 million takeover of Aga Rangemaster, Illinois-based Middleby said it is currently the only offer on the table and questioned Whirlpool's motives in coming forward with such a late offer.

It comes after the Takeover Panel, the regulatory body for such acquisitions, set Whirlpool a deadline of September 14 to come forward with a formal bid for Aga Rangemaster, which employs more than 400 people across two sites in Telford & Wrekin.

"As Aga has stated, the making of an offer by Whirlpool is subject to a number of conditions and there is no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming or as to the terms of any offer," Middleby said in the statement.

"By contrast, Middleby's acquisition has no regulatory or anti-trust conditions."

It added: "Middleby encourages Aga shareholders to consider the motivations of the approach by Whirlpool, in particular why it has waited until this late stage in the process to approach Aga.

"Middleby urges Aga shareholders to be wary that there is no certainty Whirlpool will ultimately make any offer."

It added that should they accept the deal, shareholders would be paid within 14 days of the date of the takeover's effective completion – September 23.

However, shares in Leamington Spa-based Aga Rangemaster were continuing to trade around the 208p mark on Thursday – well above the 185p per share offer made by Middleby, suggesting shareholders are still hoping for a bigger offer.

Matthew McEachran, an analyst at N+1 Singer, said earlier this week that shareholders could expect another 50p on top of that offer should Whirlpool enter into a bidding war, taking the total value of the deal past the £160 million mark.

A general meeting will be held on Tuesday, at which shareholders will be given the chance to vote on Middleby's offer.

A court hearing to sanction the deal will then take place on September 16. Whirlpool has now been told it must make an offer by September 14.

The Middleby deal is considered a good fit for Aga, with the company seemingly implying it plans to retain skills at its Coalbrookdale foundry and Ketley factory, and the deal eliminating the company's £69 million pensions deficit.

But household appliances manufacturer Whirlpool is by far the larger of the company's suitors, with annual sales worth £12.98 billion compared to Middleby's £1.07 billion.