New bids

Switzerland: Two companies are bidding to acquire Swiss surveying equipment manufacturer Leica Geosystems. Swedish investment company Hexagon initially made a CHF 441 (US$ 351) per share hostile bid. This was followed by a CHF 500 (US$ 308) per share bid from US hand tools and testing equipment maker Danaher Corporation, which Leica's board recommended. However, Hexagon subsequently raised its offer to CHF 573 in cash and shares. This prompted the board to remove its approval of the Danaher offer and adopt a neutral position to both bids. Danaher's offer values Leica at CHF 1.17 billion (US$ 929 million), while the Hexagon bid is CHF 1.34 billion (US$ 1.06 billion).