: Circor stock rallies toward 5-year high after merger deal with KKR was improved

Shares of Circor International Inc. CIR surged 4.6% toward a five-year high in premarket trading Tuesday, after the flow-control-products company agreed to an amended merger deal with KKR & Co. KKR in which the per-share bid was raised to $51 from $49. KKR’s stock slipped 0.4% ahead of the open. The new deal is valued at $1.7 billion, including debt, and implies a market capitalization for Circor of $1.04 billion. The deal was amended after Circor received an unsolicited buyout bid of $52.65 a share in cash. Circor said that even though that bid is higher than the raised KKR bid, the company believes the KKR bid is superior “because it offered more financing certainty and a clearer and faster path to receiving antitrust approvals.” Circor had originally agreed to KKR’s $49-a-share bid on June 5. Circor’s stock has doubled year to date through Monday, while KKR shares have climbed 14.4% and the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 12.7%.

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