(Reuters) – Automotive supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc is attracting interest from suitors including London-listed Melrose Industries, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of American Axle jumped 17.1% to $10.70, the biggest one-day percentage rise in almost two years, on reports of deal talks that come at a time when rising interest rates have forced lenders to pull back from financing large deals.
American Axle is also said to have drawn the interest of other auto parts suppliers including BorgWarner Inc and Dana Inc for potential tie-ups or asset deals, the report said.
A deal with American Axle could help Melrose Industries’ GKN Automotive build scale in the car-parts industry and gain a public listing in New York, the report said.
Melrose Industries, which owns British engineer GKN, last month announced its plan to separate GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy divisions.
American Axle, BorgWarner and Dana did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comments, while Melrose said, “it does not comment on speculation.”
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
