Bid war looming for UK engineer

STRUGGLING British engineer GKN could find itself at the centre of a bidding war as American buyout giant Carlyle weighs up a counter bid.

GKN, which rebuffed a £7bn swoop from City turnaround specialists Melrose Industries on Friday, claiming it was ‘opportunistic’ and undervalued its business, has now won the attention of Carlyle – one of the world’s biggest private equity firms.

Carlyle’s interest in GKN has reportedly intensified in recent months after the engineer’s share price was hammered by two profit warnings.

GKN, meanwhile, is powering ahead with its own growth strategy, unveiling plans to split its aerospace and cars divisions, as well as appointing interim chief Anne Stevens as fulltime boss, which saw her become the FTSE 100’s eighth female chief executive.