Melrose’s £7.4bn bid for GKN has been approved by US and Canadian regulators
Industrial turnaround specialist Melrose has received regulatory approval in the US and Canada for its £7.4bn bid for engineering giant GKN.
The US Federal Trade Commission granted an early end to the necessary waiting period, thus providing clearance in relation to US anti-trust.
The Competition Bureau in Canada raised a “no-action letter” to Melrose noting that it does not intend to make an application on the bid, which confirmed the completion of its review.
However, Melrose still has a number of hurdles to jump, not least government scrutiny over potential national security concerns due to GKN’s role in the manufacture of military aircraft.
Members of the Unite union plan to fan the flames by lobbying against the bid outside Westminster on Wednesday over concerns the acquisition by Melrose would spur job cuts.
GKN, which will report its full-year financial results on Tuesday, rejected Melrose’s hostile bid in mid January, and the two firms have engaged in a public battle over the past month. Shareholders will vote on the proposed bid at the end of March.