ArvinMeritor sues Dana over bid rejection
Jul 30, 2003 12:00 PM, from staff and wire reports
ArvinMeritor Inc has filed a lawsuit against Dana Corp for making “misrepresentations” in statements concerning its rejection of ArvinMeritor’s $2.2-billion bid. In the suit, filed July 25 in a United States district court in Virginia, ArvinMeritor accused Dana of making false statements when it announced its decision to reject ArvinMeritor’s bid, which was made July 9.Reuters reported that ArvinMeritor also accused Dana of making statements and disclosures that are “materially misleading, fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative in violation” of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.
Earlier in July, ArvinMeritor said it intended to acquire all the outstanding shares of Dana for $15 per share in cash. The proposed transaction had a total equity value of about $2.2 billion. ArvinMeritor currently owns more than one million shares of Dana’s common stock.
Dana’s board of directors spurned ArvinMeritor’s hostile takeover attempt July 23, terming ArvinMeritor’s offer inadequate from a financial point of view to Dana’s stockholders.
ArvinMeritor told independent directors for Dana that it wants to meet with them, according to Bloomberg News.
Dana became a target for takeover after its net losses of $182 million in 2002 and $298 million in 2001.
