ABB's bid for Baldor gets U.S. antitrust approval

ABB’s pending acquisition of Baldor Electric receives U.S. antitrust clearance; all regulatory conditions to closing are now satisfied, the companies say. Tender offer for shares expires Jan. 25.

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ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB), provider of power and automation technology, and Baldor Electric Company (NYSE: BEZ), manufacturer of industrial motors, announced Jan. 20 that the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice has cleared ABB’s proposed acquisition of Baldor pursuant to a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Baldor at a price of $63.50 per share net to the holder in cash, without interest and less any required withholding taxes. Also read: "ABB to acquire Baldor in $4.2 billion transaction."

This antitrust clearance satisfies the last remaining regulatory condition to the tender offer. As announced on January 20, 2011, the tender offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 25, 2011.

The closing of the tender offer remains subject to other customary terms and conditions, including the condition that there shall have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn a number of shares that represents more than 66-2/3% of the sum of the number of Baldor shares issued and outstanding on the expiration date of the offer and the number of Baldor shares issuable under stock options, stock units and other derivative securities then exercisable.

Subject to the satisfaction of these other conditions, ABB expects to close the acquisition of Baldor soon after the expiration of the tender offer.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.

Baldor Electric Company (NYSE: BEZ) markets, designs and manufactures industrial electric motors, mechanical power transmission products, drives and generators. Baldor employs approximately 7,000 people and is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA. www.baldor.com

- Edited by Mark T. Hoske, CFE Media, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com