Amec walks away from Kentz

Amec has withdrawn its offer to acquire fellow UK-headquartered international engineering company Kentz. It had tentatively offered to pay UK£ 5.65 – 5.80 (US$ 8.85 – 9.09) for the company, valuing it at up to UK£ 690 million (US$ 1.08 billion).

The Kentz board rejected the offer when it was made in August, saying it undervalued the company. It had previously rejected a lower offer from Germany’s M&W on the same grounds.

Stock market rules meant that in order to go ahead with any takeover, Amec would have to announce a firm offer by 16 September, as opposed to the possible conditional advance it made in August. The company has now said it will not be making an offer to acquire Kentz.