Simms accepts Lucas bid
Page 34
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Following an increase in the £12m, offer by Joseph Lucas for Simms Motor and Electronics Corporation, the bid has been accepted by the Simms board, which has recommended shareholders to accept.
Subject to Monopolies Commission approval the takeover is virtually certain to go through and will give the Lucas group about 90 per cent of the diesel engine injection equipment market in the UK. At present Lucas Industries' subsidiary, CAV Ltd., supplies about 70 per cent.
The take-over would make little change in the present supply of electrical components for commercial vehicles. Simms sold its electrical equipment manufacture to Autolite (a Ford subsidiaryl over five years ago. who continued to make Simms units. But not so widely known is the fact that Simms bought this C.V. electrics business back from Autolite last September—though purely to maintain spares availability; the amount of original electrical equipment business done by Simms is now very small.